Sleeping Beauty Dragon Knights Style!
by Laenavesse
Summary: FINAL CHAPTER! Sleeping Beauty retold DK Style! RuneTintlet Shyrendora is defeated and all that's left is to awaken the sleeping Tintlet. Witness the very happy, sad, and suprising conclusion of Sleeping Beauty Dragon Knights Style! Thank you all!
1. A Princess is Born!

Chapter 1: A Princess is Born!

Yes, I just seem to be obsessed with making parodies with the DK characters, lol. As you can see from the title this is based off the story of Sleeping Beauty! ^-^ Hope you guys enjoy this! I'm going to make this into an actual story form rather than script form. Enjoy!!

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            Alfeegi burst into Lykouleon's office. "LORD LYKOULEON!! IT'S AN EMERGENCY!!"

            The Dragon Lord blinked and looked up from his desk. "What is it, Alfeegi?"

            Ruwalk ran in, nearly toppling over the White Dragon Officer. "LYKOULEON IT'S RASELEANE!!"

            This time the Dragon Lord rose from his chair. "Ruwalk, what happened?! Tell me!"

            Kai-stern barreled through the two dragon officers, unable to stop himself in time. "IT'S FINALLY HAPPENED, MY LORD!!"

            Lykouleon was getting rather annoyed now. "For Dusis' sake, WHAT HAPPENED?!"

            Tetheus calmly walked in and looked at the three dragon officers sprawled all over the ground. "You now have an heir."

            The Dragon Lord blinked, unsure if he had heard his Black Dragon Officer correctly. "I…I what?"

            The three other officers stood up. "It's true!" Ruwalk said, a big smile on his face. "And she's as beautiful as the dawning sky…"

            Lykouleon stared at them, his bright, eyes staring at them in disbelief. "You mean…Raseleane…she…?"

            The sound of a baby crying from the room across the hall reached them. The dragon officers smiled at their lord, including Tetheus, which was a rare thing to see. They stepped out of the doorway as Lykouleon slowly walked out from behind his desk and unsteadily walked to the room where the noise was coming from. With hands shaking he slowly turned the intricately carved handle and opened the door.

            Raseleane turned and smiled at him wearily. "Lykouleon…"

            Cernozura looked up and smiled. "She's a healthy princess, my Lord. Congratulations!"

            Lykouleon just stood there stunned. "I'm a…I'm a…"

            "I think "father" is the word your looking for, Lyk," Ruwalk said grinning as he draped his arm on top of Lykouleon's shoulder, looking at the new born princess. "Don't just stand there, Dad," he said grinning. "Go and hold your daughter!" 

            The Dragon Lord blinked as the Yellow Dragon Officer pushed him inside. He slowly walked over to where Raseleane laid in their bed, holding the infant child in her arms. As he approached the side of the bed, he could scarcely believe this was happening. The child looked so tiny, and yet she was as beautiful as the dawning sky, just as Ruwalk had said. He sat down on the edge of the bed, staring at his child.

            Raseleane smiled up at him. "Would you like to hold her, Papa?" 

            Lykouleon gently took the tiny babe into his arms. She was staring up at him, her light green eyes shining with the new life that she now had. He hugged her gently. "What should we name her?" he asked in an awed voice.

            "How about…Tintlet?"

            "Tintlet…" He smiled. "That's a perfect name for her. Our little Tintlet…" He leaned over and kissed Raseleane gently on the head. "Good job, my love…"

            Raseleane gave him a loving smile and turned back to her now sleeping baby. 

            Alfeegi coughed. "I hate to intrude this family moment, but when should we announce the arrival of your heir, Lord Lykouleon?"

            Lykouleon looked up thoughtfully. "Five days…we shall announce it in five days."

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Teehee….; Yes this is going to be odd with Tintlet being the heir rather than Rath . He is Lykouleon's heir ya know .; But this is Sleeping BEAUTY =P Hope you guys don't mind the little change ^.^;;; Short chapter, yes, but it'll get a little longer in due time. Note: Everyone else has not, repeat, has NOT met yet. Just wait til you see the fairy god mothers . 


	2. Faeries

Chapter 2: Faeries

Well, some visitors stop by Draqueen to tell Lykouleon some unexpected news…

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         The town was alive with festivals and excitement as the fifth day approached. Ruwalk, much to Alfeegi's dismay, had publicly announced Tintlet's arrival to the world and when the grand celebration from which everyone could see their new princess. Tomorrow would be the big day, and everyone wanted to be there. It had been so long since there had been an heir, Lykouleon being the last. 

         Inside the castle, everyone was working hard for the preparations. They had decided to let the citizens of the kingdom to come inside the castle, but could only go into restricted areas. Tetheus took charge of the security and made sure that the Dragon Fighters would watch everyone closely. Kai-stern had traveled to close by kingdoms to invite certain ambassadors and had also sent runners to other certain kingdoms. 

         Lykouleon had his head buried in forms and diplomatic issues. Raseleane watched him for a little a bit and then continued doing her embroidery while Cernozura rocked the little princess's cradle. Lykouleon was about to just give up and put his work off for a while when Ruwalk walked in quietly. The Dragon Lord looked up. "Yes, Ruwalk?"

         "Er…Lykouleon…We have some er—"

         "Will you just let us in?!" a voice yelled from outside.

         "Please, you cannot just barge into his office like that!" Alfeegi yelled back. 

         A sweat bead formed on Lykouleon's head. "Who is it?"

         "Dealte, please calm down," another, though smaller voice came from outside.

         "This is important, Miyabi!! I CAN'T calm down!!" 

         The sound of Alfeegi's yell was followed by Ruwalk being knocked to the floor as the doors flew open. Lykouleon blinked as a faerie elf wearing a dark blue cloak walked through the door, three water lights hovering around her. "Er…may I help you?"

         The faerie group bowed. "My Lord, I am sorry to disturb you like this, but I have to talk to you," the elf said as she raised her light green eyes at him, her shoulder-length green hair waving in the wind. "It is of great importance concerning your young princess."

         Raseleane placed a protective hand on Tintlet. "What is it?"

         Alfeegi came in and looked like he was ready to blow a fuse. "How dare you enter the Lord's presence like this, not to mention barging into the castle gates without so much as a—"

         Lykouleon cleared his throat. "Alfeegi…I think it would be best if you, um, moved off of Ruwalk."

         The White Dragon Officer blinked and looked down to see a rather annoyed Ruwalk looking up at him, drumming his fingers on the floor. "Oh…I'm so sorry, Ruwalk," he said as he stepped off him.

         The Yellow Dragon Officer sighed and got up. "Oh no, it's quite all right! Not everyday I get to act as a welcoming mat…" One of the water lights flew up to him and he blinked. "May I help you?"

         The water light looked at him with her yellow-green eyes curiously. "Are you REALLY a Dragon Officer?" she asked, her shoulder length, wavy flaxen hair waving a little from the small wind that was being produced by her rapidly flapping wings. She was wearing a white dress that was cut just above the knees with a big ribbon-like bow in the back and wore a white jacket with big, puffy sleeves over it, two orange bracelets on each wrist. A large orange sash was wrapped around her waist and had a white collar-necklace around her neck with an orange ring pendant hanging in front. 

         Ruwalk blinked. "Yes…why do you not think so?"

         She flew around him, fascinated. "You have really long hair, look like a punk, not to mention you look like someone who drinks---mmmfh!!"

         Another water light had quickly flown up behind her and covered her mouth. "Hana-Kusuku!" she hissed, her long blue hair held in a ponytail streaming behind her. "You shouldn't say such things!!"

         The water light struggled and managed to escape her friend's hold. She glared into her friend's deep, purple eyes. "I was just wondering!! You can never be too careful nowadays, you know!"

         The blue haired water light sweatdropped. "Yeesh, don't have to be in such a tizzy about it!"

         Ruwalk just stared at them. "You are Hana-Kusuku, I presume?" he asked, looking at the first water light.

         She flew around him, her wavy hair bouncing. "That's right!"

         The second water light hovered in front of his face, her long hair trailing way below her. She, too, had a white dress, but it was cut a lot shorter and two wide purple straps cross over from her shoulders and over the front, the ends trailing from the sides. A small white string was tied in the center of the X-shape and she had a wide purple sash around her waist. "I'm Shian. I'm usually the one who gets all hyper, but, uh, she had sugar this morning…"

         Ruwalk laughed. "So I see."

         The third water light had flown over to Raseleane and was looking at Tintlet, her long strawberry red colored hair flowing behind her. It was tied at the end with a series of green bands. She had a white, kimono-style dress that was cut high above her knees. The sleeves of the kimono-like dress that were wide like a cloak's and were cut just below her elbow, where the long, green sleeves from her under shirt showed. A large, green ribbon was tied in the front. "So this is the princess?" she asked the Dragon Queen, her bright green eyes looking at her curiously. 

         Raseleane smiled and gently caressed her sleeping child's cheek. Little bits of light blonde hair were already starting to grow. "Yes…this is Tintlet…"

         The water light hovered above the princess's head. "She looks as if she could be a faerie elf…"

         "Miyabi!!" Dealte yelled. "Don't say such things!"

         Lykouleon blinked and looked at the faerie elf. "Why? What's the matter?"

         Dealte sighed. "I'm so sorry, my Lord, but grave danger is in your daughter's near future."

         Alfeegi turned to her shocked. "What do you mean "grave danger"? We have the best security in Dusis!"

         The faerie elf looked into Alfeegi's light orange eyes gravely. "I'm sorry, but that is what I saw in the cards."

         Ruwalk blinked. "Cards?"

         Dealte sighed. "Yes…I can read fortunes by cards. I was curious to see how Tintlet would fare as a princess when I saw the warning in them." She turned to Lykouleon. "She will die in the near future if we don't put some protection over her."

         Everyone, including the water lights, looked at her in horrific shock. Raseleane picked up Tintlet from her cradle and held her protectively, unsure if she should believe what the faerie elf had just said. 

         Before Alfeegi could barrage her with questions, Lykouleon stood up from behind his desk, a grave look on his face. "Dealte, correct?" She nodded. "I have no doubt in your words. I have heard of your talents and they give high respect to you." He looked over at his daughter, who was still sleeping peacefully in her mother's arms. "What do you suggest we do?"

         Dealte looked at him unsurely. "That I do not know…for I have no idea what will be the cause of her death."

         The water light named Miyabi was looking into the sleeping princess's face. "She looks so peaceful and innocent…" She whirled around to face Dealte. "Dealte! There must be something we can do! We didn't just come all the way over here to just give them bad news!!"

         Raseleane blinked and looked down at the hovering water light. An idea suddenly popped into her head. She turned to the Dragon Lord. "Lykouleon? May I offer a suggestion?"

         Lykouleon blinked. "Yes, of course, Raseleane. What is it?"  
         "What if we had these faeries bless our darling princess tomorrow? They could be her god parents."

         They all looked at her stunned. "But…do water lights have power to give?" Alfeegi blinked while looking at the two who were still hovering around Ruwalk.

         Shian looked at him defiantly. "Way not be as powerful like Dealte, but we can do a few things that _you_ probably couldn't do."

         Ruwalk laughed. "Well I think that would be an interesting idea. Having faerie help wouldn't be too bad."

         Alfeegi looked over to Lykouleon. "This has never been done before! How do you know we can trust they won't put a curse on the princess?" 

         Now it was Dealte's turn to be defiant. "White Dragon Officer, Alfeegi! Why would _I_ place a curse on the princess?! One I'm a faerie elf, not a sorceress!! And two, if I even had the power or the motive to, why would I have bothered to come and warn you all?!" She glared at him.

         Lykouleon tried hard to suppress a smile that was forming on his lips. He coughed. "Well, I think Raseleane's idea is splendid, as usual," he said smiling at his queen. He turned to the faeries. "Then tomorrow you will come and bless our little princess, and then we will see what will come."

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Whee! Those three water lights, by the way, come in later in DK and stick with Nohiro. I just decided to include them as the "fairy" god parents (lol .) Originally it was supposed to be Dealte, Cesia, and Silk, but I kinda dashed that idea cos I wasn't sure how I would work with that .; By the way, I wasn't sure if Dealte and the others are faeries or elves, though I'm thinking they are elves. I just like the name faerie elf for some reason .;; Hope you guys don't mind! Well review and tell me what you think .;;


	3. Preparations for the Celebration!

Chapter 3: Preparation for the Celebration!

Hey I rhymed! Lol. It's preparation time and everything is in chaos! =D Lets see…who should be the evil sorceress…or maybe I should make it a g----OOOOOOOOOO! MAJOR IDEA!!! O_o!!! *coughs* There's gonna be some more changes to this fairy tale! D!

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         It was finally the fifth day, and the streets were filled with music and partying as everyone prepared to go to the castle. Other royal families had arrived and were making their way to Lykouleon. Dealte was walking around the city, awed by its size and greatness. Everywhere she looked she saw signs of how much the people loved their Dragon Lord. 

         As she walked past a store she caught a glimpse of one of the passing carriages that was heading to the castle. _My there are a lot of royal families coming,_ she thought to herself. When another one passed she tried to catch a glimpse of its occupant. She froze when she saw it was, her the color draining from her face. She staggered and quickly threw out an arm to catch herself, only to feel another person holding her up from behind. She blinked and turned around to see the Blue Dragon Officer looking down at her, concern etched all over his face.

         "Are you all right, Ms. Dealte?" Kai-stern asked, his white eyes filled with concern.

         She nodded and straightened. "Yes…thank you Kai-stern. I just had a…dizzy spell that's all." She smiled at him.

         The Dragon Officer raised an eyebrow then pushed his glasses up a little to the bridge of his nose. "Well I was just passing by to return to the castle. You looked like you had seen a ghost." He glanced over at her.

         Dealte blinked. "No, no, no!" she stammered, waving her hands. "It must be the heat!" she said as she inched her way away. "I think I'll be heading back to the castle now! Bye and thanks!" She shot off to the castle, leaving Kai-stern to look after her bewildered.

         The Blue Dragon Officer just shrugged and glanced at his watch. There was still some time left before he had to go back to the castle. _Eh, it's been a long trip…_ he thought as he entered the pub. He walked over to the counter and sat down. 

         The bartender blinked and went over to him. "Well, if it isn't Kai-stern! Been a while since we saw you come in here!"

         Kai-stern grinned up at him. "Heh, yeah, I've been pretty busy, what with the princess and all. Just get me the usual."

         "Coming right up!"

         When his drink arrived, Kai-stern held the glass and looked at it thoughtfully. "Hey…has any suspicious characters been in here?"

         "Everyone is suspicious looking around here, haha."

         A small sweat bead formed on Kai-stern's head. "You know what I mean." He leaned in closer. "Any yokai been sighted?"

         The bartender furrowed his brows as he cleaned a glass. "No…that I rec—oh wait I do remember something."

         Kai-stern drank a little of his glass and looked at him. "Do tell."

         The bartender leaned over the counter and kept his voice low. "Word has it that there's a conspiracy going around the demon realm. My bet is that it has to do something with the little princess."

         The Blue Dragon Officer stared at him. "A conspiracy, eh?" _Same thing as the other kingdoms…_ "Any idea on who might be behind it?"

         "Nope."

         "Thanks, anyway." Kai-stern downed his drink and paid the bill. "Catch you later," he said as he walked out. He stood in the doorway and looked at the castle. "I wonder…" He walked back to the castle, his head deep in thought.

         When he reached the gates he spotted Tetheus patrolling the grounds and walked over, only to be tackled by a white wolf demon. He laughed as the anime continued to lick his face repeatedly, knocking his glasses off in the process. "Crewger!! Get off me you big oaf!!"

         The wolf demon just continued to slobber the dragon officer. Tetheus strolled over, a look of amusement on his face. "I see you have met the welcoming committee."

         When Kai-stern finally pushed off Crewger he sat up and looked at Tetheus while scratching behind the wolf demon's ears. "Ugh, and I just took a shower, too! Oh well, Alfeegi would probably make me take another one." His looked hardened. "But Tetheus…there's something I would like to discuss. You've got everything secure around here right? There are no glitches in the shield or anything, right?  
         Tetheus blinked. "Of course. Everything has been checked and double-checked." He looked at Kai-stern. "Do you think I am not performing my job correctly?"

         Kai-stern sweatdropped. "No! I was just checking for my own assurance…"  
         The Black Dragon Officer turned and glanced down at Kai-stern. "Everything is secure, there is no doubt in that. Rest assured. Oh, and Alfeegi would like to speak to you about…certain cost matters?"

         Kai-stern flinched. "This is more than what I need." He stood up and dusted himself off. "Right, but I'm going to get myself cleaned up. Later." He jogged to the castle.

         Ruwalk blinked when he saw Kai-stern flash by him. "Hey Kai—"

         "Later!!" the Blue Dragon Officer yelled over his back.

         Ruwalk stared after him then shrugged. "Must be trying to hide from Alfeegi…oh well back to work," he said to himself as he toward Lykouleon's office.

         "Where are you going?" a small voice asked near his ear. 

         "To see the Dragon Lord," he automatically replied then blinked. He turned slightly and saw the three water lights flying around him. "I thought you guys were with the princess!"

         Shian just huffed. "We had to explore you know! It's not every day one gets to stay inside the Dragon Lords castle!"

         "I thought it was a palace…" Hana-Kusuku said.

         "Well…same difference!" Shian said. She turned back to Ruwalk. "Anyway, this place is huge! We almost got ourselves lost!"

         Miyabi flew in front of him. "Who was that guy that had ran past you?"

         "Oh, that was Kai-stern, the Blue Dragon Officer."

         "Oooooh he was CUTE!" Shian said giggling. She flew over to Miyabi and gave her a sly look. "I bet you want to meet him, don't you Miyabi?"

         Miyabi stared at her. "I do not! I was just curious! I've never seen the other Dragon Officers so I was just curious!"

         The blue haired water light just nodded. "Yep, yep, that's what they ALL say!"

         Ruwalk just stood there with a sweat bead on his head. "Er…um…can I…?"

         "Whee! This is fun!" he heard Hana-Kusuku say by his ear.

         "What is?"

         The water light just giggled. "Your hair is just long enough!"

         Ruwalk blanched. "What are you doing?!"

         Shian flew over and burst out laughing. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!"

         "It's hard finding the right colors for you hair…but it's soooo pretty being two colors!!" Hana-Kusuku flew in front of him and smiled. "There! Now you look nice!"

         Ruwalk ran to the mirror and looked at himself. His scream could be heard all over the castle, even from the outside the castle gates.

         Miyabi flinched and slowly uncovered her ears. "Er…I don't think that was such a good idea…"

         Hana-Kusuku blinked. "I thought he looked nice with the ribbons on the end…"

         Shian just rolled in the air laughing. 

         Ruwalk twitched as he tried to regain his calm. He stared at the green and yellow ribbons that hung from the ends of his hair then, with his eyebrow still twitching, he slowly turned back around. The water lights flew back a little.

         "Hehe…you do look nice you know…" Shian said, trying hard not to burst out laughing again.

         The dragon officer sighed and placed a hand over his forehead. "Right…anyway…shouldn't you three be with Dealte?"

         Miyabi flew over to him and started to undo the ribbons. "Yeah…but she left to explore the city some."

         Ruwalk glanced down at her. "How long ago was that?"

         "Um…" The water light looked up thoughtfully as she untied another ribbon. "An hour or so ago?"

         "An hour ago?! The ceremony is supposed to start in a few hours!!" He blinked then grabbed his hair as if he was going to tear it out. "AHHH! I HAVE TO SEE LYKOULEON!!" The flustered and frustrated Ruwalk ran down the hall, Miyabi clinging onto the ribbon.

         "Ruwalk!!" she yelled. "WAAAIIIITTT!!!"

         The two other water lights blinked and flew behind them, watching Ruwalk zip down the hallways, skid around the corner, and almost crash into some caterers. Shian was having problems flying straight. She was laughing at the ribbons that were streaming behind Ruwalk while Miyabi was hanging on for dear life. The two cringed as Ruwalk crashed through the doors of Lykouleon's office and slid on the ground.

         "Aaaaaaahhhh!!!!" Miyabi yelled as she flew across the room, only to be caught by a surprised Alfeegi. She blinked when she realized she was still alive and looked up into the puzzled orange eyes of the White Dragon Officer. "Er…hiya!" she waved nervously.

         Alfeegi blinked. "Miyabi?" His gaze trailed over to the unconscious Ruwalk lying on the ground, his eyes turned to big spirals. "…Ruwalk…"

         Lykouleon sat behind his desk, trying hard not to burst out laughing. He stood up, walked over to Ruwalk, stopped down, and poked him. "Ruwalk? Hey, are you all right?"

         The Yellow Dragon Officer came to and rubbed his head. "Ow…talk about a crash landing…" He stood up and shook his head, the rest of the ribbons falling off his reddish black hair. He coughed and straightened. "Lykouleon, I have just come back from the committee and the preparations are complete. We can proceed to commence the celebration whenever you are ready."

         The Dragon Lord smiled. "Thank you, Ruwalk." He turned and looked past him at the two water lights still hovering in the doorway. "Where's Dealte?"

         "She's gone off exploring," Hana-Kusuku said as she flew over to him. She hovered close to his face. "Wow…you're really cute…"

         Lykouleon blinked. "Er…thanks…I think?"

         Ruwalk stifled a laugh as Shian flew over and whacked Hana-Kusuku. "You can't talk to the Dragon Lord like that!!!"

         Hana-Kusuku rubbed her head. "But it was a compliment…"

         The Dragon Lord smiled. "It's alright." He looked over at Raseleane, who was trying very hard not to laugh. "I suppose once Dealte comes back when can begin the celebration."

         At that very moment, Dealte burst into the room, followed by Kai-stern. The two leaned against the walls, trying to catch their breath.

         "I…won…" Dealte said in between breaths.

         "Did…not…" Kai-stern said.

         Alfeegi looked at them, Miyabi now sitting on the dragon officer's shoulder. "And what have _you_ two been doing?"

         The two newcomers blinked and looked at Alfeegi, who had his arms crossed and an eyebrow raised. "Uh…" They pointed at each other. "It was his fault," Dealte yelled as Kai-stern yelled, "It was her fault" at the same time.

         Alfeegi sighed. "In that case, it's both of your faults. Where's Tetheus?"

         Tetheus emerged from a corner of the room. "I have been here the whole time."

         Everyone jumped and looked at him. "You were?!" Ruwalk yelled. "God that's freaky when you do that!!"

         Tetheus just looked at him. "I'm just doing my job."

         Hana-Kusuku flew over to him. "Are you the Black Dragon Officer, Tetheus?"

         He blinked. "Yes…"

         The water light flew around him then stopped back in front of his face, her wings fluttering rapidly. "You're cute too!"

         Tetheus blinked again. "Thanks…I think…"

         Shian flew over to her and whacked her again. "WHAT IS WITH YOU AND TELLING THEM ALL THAT THEY ARE CUTE??!?!?"

         The poor water light cringed, looking like she was about burst into tears. "But…I was just telling them the truth…waaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!!!!!!" She flies out of the office crying.

         "Hana-Kusuku!!" Miyabi yelled after her as she flew off Alfeegi's shoulder. She glared at Shian. "Look what you've done!!!"

         Shian looked away and crossed her arms. "Well she was! It was very disrespectful, not to mention annoying!!"

         As the two started arguing, a small, young voice was heard talking to Hana-Kusuku. "You really shouldn't run off like that. I'm sure your friend didn't mean anything."

         "But…"

         Alfeegi blinked and looked outside to see a young boy talking to the little water light. He was dressed in blue royal garments, his long blond hair reaching his waist, and was holding Hana-Kusuku close to his face. The dragon officer blinked and stepped outside. "Hello? May I help you?"

         The young boy looked up at him. "Oh, hello. You must be the White Dragon Officer Alfeegi."

         Alfeegi blinked. "Yes…" It was then that Alfeegi noticed that the young boy looked like a faerie elf. "Would you like to speak to the Dragon Lord?"

         "Er…" The young boy looked around. "I…I guess so…but I need to find the Elder first…"

         _Elder…? Does that mean that this boy is…?! _Alfeegi looked at him. "Are you—" He was cut off by a yell.

         "There you are!! I've been looking all over for you!!" An elderly but strong looking man ran up to them. He bent over, catching his breath. He was also dressed in royal garments, though it was all white. His hair was just as long though, and very white. 

         The young boy looked at him. "Oh there you are, Elder. Where did you go?"

         The older man looked past Rune at Alfeegi and straightened. "White Dragon Officer Alfeegi!"

         "Elder…?"

         "Hey, Feeg! What's going on out there?" Ruwalk yelled from inside. Little bits of laughter could be heard from inside the room.

         The dragon officer twitched. "It seems we have some visitors…"

         Lykouleon stepped outside, suppressing a smile as he passed Alfeegi. When he saw the two newcomers he blinked. "It's been a long time since we've last met. Would you please come in?"

         The elder smiled. "Why yes, thank you. Come along," he said to the boy, who was still holding the now calmed Hana-Kusuku in his hands. As they re-entered the office, Dealte stared at them wide-eyed. The elder winked at her and stood behind the young boy, both hands on his shoulders. "May I present you, Prince Rune, prince of the Faerie Water Realm and the Spirit Tribe."

         The young boy bowed. "Pleased to meet you."

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Teehee ^^ That was fun . Poor Ruwalk! XD! Anyway, the actual celebration is the next chapter, in which the faeries will give their gifts…and when the evil sorcerer or sorceress will come and attack!!! O! Okay, just curse, but yeah well…R&R!


	4. The Gifts

Chapter 4: The Gifts

Ho hum hum, lets see what the faeries/water lights are gonna give Tintlet ^^ I'm still debating if I should change her name or not…oh and don't worry about the other two Dragon Knights. They're coming in soon ^^ Teehee! Enjoy =D *eats a double chocolate Milano* MMMMMMM…These are GOOOOD!!! @O@

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            Shian gasped and flew to Rune. "RUNE?!??! _THE_ PRINCE RUNE??!?!?!"

            Rune smiled, sweatdropping a little. "Yes…that's me…"

            Hana-Kusuku looked up at him in awe. "Wow…" She blinked. "OH MY STARS!! I'VE BEEN TOUCHED BY THE PRINCE!!!" she yelled as she shot up and flew around in circles.

            Miyabi flew over to them. "Girls! Girls!! Calm down! You'll wake the princess…" She sighed when they continued flying around, yelling excitedly, and turned to Rune and bowed. "It is an honor to meet you, Prince Rune…"

            The faerie elf prince smiled. "Likewise. And who are all of you?"

            "I'm Mi—"

            "I'M SHIAN!" Shian yelled as she flew in front of Miyabi.

            "Shi—"

            "AND I'M HANA-KUSUKU!!" Hana-Kusuku yelled as she flew in front of Shian.

            Miyabi sighed and blinked when she felt a small pair of hands cup underneath her, making her stand. She looked up and saw Rune looking at her smiling. 

            "And yours?"  
            She blushed slightly. "Er…I'm Miyabi…"

            "I'm honored to meet all of you." He turned to Dealte and blinked in surprise. "Dealte!!" He ran up to her and hugged her. "Dealte!! It's been so long since I've seen you!!!"

            She smiled as she hugged him back. "Yes, I've been busy working, you know."

            "What brings both of you here?" Lykouleon asked.

            "To pay our respects, of course," the Elder said smiling. He placed a hand on Rune's head. "He may act old, but he's really very young."

            "How young?" Ruwalk asked.

            The elder just looked at him, his eyes shining. "That is for you to figure out."

            Raseleane looked down at Tintlet and noticed her squirming around. She picked her up and laughed. "It seems that she wants to meet everyone."

            Rune blinked and walked over to her. "Is she the princess?"  
            "That she is."

            "She looks so small…though not as small as the water lights of course…" Tintlet turned her head and stared at Rune. He felt himself blushing and turned away, coughing. "Still, I can see that she will become a great Queen."

            Lykouleon and the Elder glanced at each other and nodded. The Elder walked over to Rune and bent down so that he was level with the small prince. "Is there a gift _you_ would like to give her?"

            "A…a gift?" Rune asked blinking.

            Raseleane smiled. "Yes, I think that would be wonderful!"

            "But I don't…"

            Miyabi flew up to him and whispered something into his ear. He blinked and looked at her. She winked. "It's the perfect gift to give a girl, no matter how old she is."

            An attendant knocked on the door. "Sir, everything is waiting and the people are anticipating Princess Tintlet's grand appearance to the public."

            Lykouleon smiled and turned to everyone. "Shall we go then?"

            Raseleane stood up, still holding Tintlet. "I've been awaiting this day for such a long time…"

            The Dragon Lord put an arm around her and gently kissed her on the head. "So have I…"

            Alfeegi coughed and opened the door. "My Lady and Lord, everyone awaits."

            Everyone filed out of the room, Tetheus and Kai-stern in the front, followed by Lykouleon and Raseleane, Cernozura holding Tintlet for now. Alfeegi and Ruwalk followed behind them. 

            "Ooooh! This is so exciting!!" Shian squealed as she and the other two water lights flew behind Dealte.

            "Teehee! I know!! I'm still not sure what I should give the princess though…" Hana-Kusuku said worriedly.

            "I'm sure you'll think of something," Rune said behind them. He glanced at Miyabi, who winked at him again. She flew up to him and after chanting a few words, a rose appeared in his hand. He looked at the water light and smiled. "Thank you…Miyabi…"

            She smiled. "Just go with the flow!"

            A loud roar of applause greeted them when the procession reached the platform the Dragon Fighters had constructed for the occasion. The royal couple stood in the center, Raseleane now holding the little Tintlet, as the Dragon Officers lined up in the back. Rune and the Elder stood to the right while Dealte and the water lights stood to left. Alfeegi strode forward and gave a quick speech, must to everyone's relief. 

            When he was finished, the Elder nudged Rune, making the elf prince stumble forward. He straightened, gave a quick glare at the Elder, who was just grinning and giving him the peace sign. Rune sweatdropped a little and walked over to Raseleane a little stiffly. The crowd watched silently, wondering who the young boy was.

            Rune cleared his throat when he finally reached them and kneeled. "I, Rune, Prince of the Faerie Water Realm and of the Spirit Tribe, hereby give thee, Tintlet, Princess of Dragon Lord Lykouleon and Dragon Queen Raseleane, heiress to the Kingdom of Draqueen, a young rose, symbolizing your undoubted beauty which will grow throughout your life. May this special rose stay with you as long as you live." He looked up at the Queen, his face slightly red with embarrassment as he held up the rose. 

            Raseleane smiled as she took the rose. "Thank you, my young prince. I am sure that my darling princess will treasure this forever."

            Rune blushed a little and hurried over to the Elder.

            "Longest sentence I've ever heard," the Elder muttered into Rune's ear.

            The young prince just stood there, his face still red.

            Miyabi giggled and gave him the peace sign. She looked up at Dealte. "Who should go first?"

            "I'll go!" Hana-Kusuku volunteered excitedly.

            Dealte smiled. "Do you know what to do?"

            The water light nodded and flew over to the Dragon Queen. "Queen Raseleane, I too have a gift for the young princess!"

            Raseleane smiled. "Then what is your gift?"

            Hana-Kusuku spread her arms wide as she seemed to sparkle with white light. "_I give thee, Tintlet, Princess of Draqueen, the gift of nature. Shall you always feel what nature feels and shall you be protected by nature's powers._" A bright white light shot out from her and surrounded Tintlet. When the light disappeared, she relaxed and flew around excitedly. "I did it!!"

            The crowd applauded and cheered as the water light returned to her friends. They seemed to approve of her gift and showed it. Hana-Kusuku blushed slightly as Dealte smiled at her.

            "My turn!" Shian yelled as she shot forward. She flew over to the royal family and hovered over Tintlet, blue sparkles falling from her hands as she held them out in front of her. "_I give thee, Tintlet, Princess of Draqueen, the gift of gentleness and devotion. Shall you always be kind to others and devote yourself to your loved ones, and to be willing to protect them with all your heart._" A bright blue light shot out from her hands and entered Tintlet's heart, making the area glow a soft blue for a little while. She turned to everyone and grinned as everyone applauded and cheered for her.

            "Well done, well done," Dealte said smiling as Shian flew back. She turned to Miyabi. "Are you ready?"

            "Um…I'm still not sure yet," Miyabi said sweatdropping. "You go ahead…"

            "All right," Dealte said as she strode forward and stood in front of Raseleane. She placed a hand gently on top of Tintlet's body. "_I give thee, Tintlet, Princess of Draqueen, the gift of water._" Everyone watched in awe as water swirled around both her and the princess. Dealte stared with her deep green eyes down into the curious filled, light blue eyes of Tintlet. "_May the powers of water and the Water Realm protect over you and give you the strength to endure the times to come._"

            Rune blinked. "She gave Princess Tintlet the power of _water_?"

            The elder stroked his long white beard. "Interesting…" He blinked and looked up as dark black clouds swirled in the sky. "Odd…I didn't sense rain today…"

            Dealte jumped back as a lightning bolt struck next to her as Lykouleon quickly stood in front of Raseleane. The Dragon Officers and Dragon Fighters quickly surrounded them. The crowd was growing hysterical while security tried to calm them down.

            "Lykouleon! Raseleane! Are you all right?" Ruwalk yelled as he drew his sword next to the Dragon Lord.

            "Yes. But what is _that_?" Lykouleon asked as he turned to the swirling black winds in front of them. 

            Everyone watched in horror as a figure in a black cloak emerged. She had long, silver hair with three long red markings on her face, one under each eye and one in the center of her forehead. Her deep red-purple eyes glared at the Dragons.

            "How dare you exclude me from this occasion!" she yelled, thunder booming around them.

            "Shyrendora!" Alfeegi yelled. "How did you get past our barriers?!"

            She turned to him and gave him a smile that made the dragon officer shudder. "I had…a little help from a nice Dragon Fighter…" She held out her hand and the bloody corpse of a Dragon Fighter flew to the ground.

            Everyone screamed while Tetheus remained emotionless. Rune covered his mouth in horror and backed up as the pool of blood streamed out from the body. The yokai turned back and looked at the Queen. "I too have a gift for your…princess," she said, her voice smooth and slick like oil. She raised her right hand and glowed a dark red. "_Here me, foolish Dragons! I give your princess the gift of death!_"

            Raseleane clutched Tintlet close to her breast. "NO!"

            Shyrendora just smiled at her. "No, immediate death would be too…merciful…" She turned to the horror stricken crowd. "Here me! When she turns eighteen, she will spy an innocent looking flower and pluck it from its place. But when she does, she will feel indescribable pain. She will try to kill herself but she will fail and in her vulnerable state, one of my followers will come out from the flower and complete the curse, killing her by flying right through her heart!!!"

            Everyone screamed as she laughed hysterically and disappeared into a whirl of ferocious black wind. Raseleane clutched her daughter and sobbed uncontrollably as Lykouleon placed a comforting arm around her. 

Rune stared in shock. "She'll…she'll die?!" he yelled to his Elder. "She can't die!! She CAN'T!!" The Elder just looked down at him sadly and Rune clenched his fists, angry tears streaming down his face. When he looked up he saw Miyabi's gentle face looking into his.

"Don't worry, Prince Rune," she said, her voice sounding faraway as she glowed a soft pink, bright sparkles surrounding her. "I still have my gift to give…"

"Don't sacrifice yourself!" Lykouleon yelled as the water light hovered over Tintlet.

The water light just smiled at him and closed her eyes. "_I, Miyabi, give thee, my fair princess, a gift that will counter Shyrendora's curse. Instead of dying when you pluck the originally cursed flower, you shall fall into a deep, painless sleep, along with the rest of the kingdom. She will awaken by a kiss from her one true love… _" She turned to the speechless crowd and smiled. "_And with my remaining power, I shall have everyone forget what has happened until one year before she turns eighteen…_"

"NO MIYABI!!" Dealte screamed, tears streaming down her face.

"Miyabi!!" her two water light friends yelled as they flew over to her, reaching her just as a bright flash of light erupted from her.

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The spindle thing just doesn't work with me here . And so I made the curse a bit more…extreme .;;; So does Miyabi die? Or will a miracle happen? Read on to find out!

            


	5. Meetings and Attack

Chapter 5: Meetings and Attack 

Blah blah blah, lets fast forward! .

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            It had been several years since the birth of the new princess and everyone, just as Miyabi had said, had forgotten all about the curse Shyrendora had cursed upon the princess. Instead they only remembered the gifts she had received and a false ending that Miyabi had created. Tintlet had grown to be the most beautiful princess to have ever been born and as the years flew by, several suitors had come, though each had been rejected. There had been no word from Rune or the other faeries during this time. It was as if they had forgotten all about the event and did not care…

            A young green haired boy who looked to be between seventeen and eighteen and with two scars on his face lifted his glass. "Hey, barkeep, can I have another?"

            The bartender walked over to him, cleaning a glass with a white rag. "Another one? Haven't you had enough?"

            The boy just looked at him. "Nah, I can take more."

            The bartender sighed as he refilled the glass. "This is really piling up on your tab, Thatz."

            The green haired boy just smiled. "Hey, come on! I'll pay you! You can at least let off a little." He took the glass and downed the drink in one gulp. "Ah! Nothing beats a coconut milkshake with a bit of rum in it!"

            The barkeep just shook his head as he went to his other customers. "We'll see!"

            Thatz placed his glass down with a _clink!_ and scanned the pub. It was the same old people that usually came in. He was about to ask the bartender for another drink when a sudden movement caught his attention from the corner of his eye. He turned slightly and saw a person he had never seen before walk in. He had a black cape and his face was hidden from within the hood, a sword hanging from his side. The pub became silent as everyone turned to stare at the newcomer. The stranger looked at them all then walked to the counter, his boots thudding against the wooden floor. 

            "Er…can I help you, sir?" the barkeep said as the stranger took a seat next to Thatz. 

            "Just a glass of water would be fine," the stranger asked, his voice firm but young.

            Thatz looked over and caught a glimpse of some red hair protruding from the hood. He quickly turned away when the hood turned slightly and picked up his glass, only to realize it was still empty. _Wonder if this dude has any cash on him…_

            "So, you're a thief."

            Thatz started when he heard the stranger suddenly talked to him. "What?!"

            The stranger didn't turn. "I can sense the tension around you. It's the type that all thieves have when they find a prospect to steal from." At this the stranger turned his head to face Thatz.

            The young thief leaned back a bit as the piercing red eyes stared into his. "Er, I, uh…" He coughed. "Aren't you hot in with that thing on your head? It's like ninety degrees outside!"

            The stranger blinked then, to Thatz's great surprise, started to laugh. Thatz stared quizzically at him as the stranger removed his hood to reveal his face. His hair was a deep crimson red, _Probably dyed_, Thatz added silently, and had an odd white lock of hair sticking out from the right of his bangs. The stranger placed his elbow against the counter and leaned his head against his head. "It _was_ getting a tad hot in here, especially with all these smokers and drunkards in here."

            Thatz grinned. "Name's Thatz. Yours?"

            "Rath."

            "Rath, eh? Well nice to meet you! What brings you to Draqueen, anywho?"

            The young newcomer looked at him for a moment, deciding whether or not he could trust him. "I was sent."

            A sweat bead appeared by Thatz's head. "Sent? By who? And what's with the sword? Looks cool by the way."

            Rath took a drink of his water and placed it back onto the counter, the ice clinking against the glass. "One of the neighboring kingdoms," he lied. "Pay their respects, you know." He didn't want to tell Thatz the truth in front of all these people. Neither was he sure if he could trust him.

            "Oooohhh…" Thatz looked at him for a moment. "Well, I can tell yer hidin' somethin' from me, but I'll let it slide."

            Rath blinked. _He could tell?_ He turned away and smiled a little. "Something like that…"

            The bartender walked back to them. The pub had returned to the noisy atmosphere and there were plenty of singing going on in some of the tables. "Is there anything else I can get you boys?"

            Thatz shook his head. "Nah, I finished. Thanks, though."

            The bartender looked at Rath. "And you?"

            Rath just stared at him. "Can you tell me how I can speak to Lykouleon?"

            A hush fell over the pub as its occupants stared at the red haired stranger. No one had ever talked about the Dragon Lord without using his title. The only ones who did were either his close friends, like Ruwalk, or ruffians who looked to the Dragon Lord with spite. The bartender stammered and cleared his throat. "I-I'm sure if you went to the castle you'd be able to gain access…" 

            Rath stood up. "Thank you. That is all." He turned around, his black cape swirling around him, and walked out of the pub. 

            When he disappeared out the door, everyone in the pub murmured at what the stranger could have wanted. Thatz swirled his finger in his glass while staring after where Rath had gone. _What was with that guy…?_ He stood up. "Hey, barkeep, I'm leavin'. Thanks for the free drink!" He waved and walked out the door, a straw in his mouth.

            "See ya." The bartender blinked. "Free…? Hey wait a minute!! THATZ!!" He sighed. "Oh well…"

            Thatz scanned the crowd and stood in front of the pub puzzled. "Hm…wonder where that feller went to—mmmmffh!!" he tried to yell as a hand covered his mouth and was pulled into an alley. He turned around when he was released. "HEY! WHAT'S THE BIG ID—!!"

            Rath covered his mouth again, cringing. "Will you hush?!" he hissed. When Thatz blinked and realized who he was, Rath sighed and removed his hand again. "Finally!" He looked at the young thief. "Why did you follow me?"

            Thatz looked around nervously. "Following? I wasn't foll—" He gulped when he felt the sword suddenly at his neck. "Er…I was just curious that's all!!" he laughed nervously as he pushed the sword away.

            "…" Rath sheathed the sword. "Relax, I won't kill you." He looked at Thatz squarely in the eyes. "Can I trust you?"

            Thatz grinned. "You bet you can! Nothing could make me spill anything you want kept secret."

            Rath looked him for a moment. "…Even if they try to torture you by means of painful death?"

            "Er…" _That's kinda hard…oh well!_ "Yessiree!"

            Rath smiled. "All right. You already know I lied back there. The truth is, I'm part yokai and I just came from Nadil's army."

            "YOU'RE WHAT?!?!" Thatz yelled.

            Rath clamped his hand over the thief's mouth. "Will you keep your voice down?!?!"

            Thatz removed the hand and stared at him in disbelief. "But, but, but, but if you're yokai then why do you want to see the Dragon Lord?!??"

            "I said I was _part_ yokai."

            "Then what's the other part?!"

            "…Dragon."

            Thatz stared at him in disbelief. "You expect me to believe that?!"

            "I figured you wouldn't. But I am."

            "How can I be so sure?!"

            "Come with me to see Lykouleon."

            "But there's a barrier that prohibits yokai from entering!"

            Rath just looked at him. "I know. But I can enter easily. I used to live there…"

            "YOU WHAT??!?!" He sweatdropped as a vein popped on Rath's head. "Sorry, sorry! But…why did you join _Nadil's_ army?!"

            "I was more or less a spy," Rath said disgustedly. 

            Thatz blinked. "A spy…?" He stared at him. "Well…you do look the type."

            "Don't encourage the idea," Rath snapped. "Anyway, I have to report to Lykouleon."

            "But don't you know the way since you used to live there…?"

            "Yes."

            "Then why did you ask?"

            "To see how much respect he still has."

            "You're strange," Thatz said sweatdropping.

            "So?" 

            "People aren't going to look at you kindly after not addressing the Dragon Lord properly."

            "Tch." Rath turned and started walking. "He irritates me."

            "That could be classified as a sign of insubordination!" Thatz said as he ran after him.

            Rath glanced at him. "So you're coming?"

            "Well, you might be lying and are out to kill the Dragon Lord!" _Erk…why'd I say that?!_

            They walked in silence toward the palace gates. The guards straightened when they saw Rath and let him pass without asking about Thatz. 

            Thatz blinked and looked at Rath. "Okay, so you _are_ welcome here," he said sweatdropping.

            Rath just continued walking in silence and they soon reached the Dragon Lord's officer. He knocked on the door.

            "Come in," Lykouleon said from inside.

            The two entered, Thatz still looking at Rath curiously. 

            Lykouleon blinked and looked up at him. "Rath! It's been a while…"

            "It seems that they are gathering forces," Rath continued. "They have become unusually restless these past few months…" He stared at the Dragon Lord. "And it seems that Princess Tintlet is involved."

            Thatz blinked. "The princess?!" he repeated

            Lykouleon blinked and looked at Thatz, finally noticing him. "Thatz, you're back sooner than expected."

The thief scratched the back his head and grinned. "Hehe, I met up with Rath here…"

Rath blinked and looked at the two. "You…know each other…?"

Lykouleon smiled. "Why yes. Thatz here is the Dragon Knight of Earth."

Thatz grinned. "Yep. And you must be the Dragon Knight of Fire."

"But…when…how did…?!??!" Rath stood there shocked.

            Lykouleon laughed. "Yes, it was quite strange really. He tried to steal the rock that kept Earth sealed."

            "I was almost successful!" Thatz grinned.

Rath shook his head. "Anyway…" He paused. "…How old is Tintlet again?"

            At that moment the princess herself appeared. "Daddy, Mother wants…" She blinked when she saw Rath and Thatz standing there looking at her. "Oh…it seems you have company…"

            Lykouleon smiled. "No, it's quite all right…"

            Tintlet stood at the doorway, looking unsure of what to do. Her light blonde, slightly wavy hair trailed almost to the ground, two long ringlets of hair trailing from each side of her face. She wore a beautifully designed silver tiara on her forehead and her gentle, light blue eyes watched them curiously. She was dressed in a long, flowing, white gown, the sleeves sagging elegantly as she placed her hands on the doorway. Tintlet blinked. "Er…I'll tell Mother that you're busy…" She quickly curtsied and ran down the hall.

            Lykouleon suppressed a chuckle and turned back to Rath. "You were asking…?"  
            Rath blinked and turned back around. "How old is the princess?"

            "Seventeen, turning eighteen in six months."

            "Eighteen…" Rath murmured to himself. "There's something that's supposed to happen…but what?" He snapped his eyes open and grabbed the hilt of his sword. "Lykouleon."

            Lykouleon stood up. "I sense it, too."

            Thatz blinked and looked at them confused. "Nani?" He jumped when a scream came from down the hall. "What the hell was that?!" he yelled as the two ran past him.

            "Yokai!" Rath yelled. 

            "Tintlet!!" Lykouleon cried as he shot past Rath, his sword drawn.

            "Oh cripes!" Thatz said as he ran after them, unsheathing his sword.

            The trio skidded around a corner and stopped quickly, Thatz sliding past them losing his balance. He quickly jabbed the sword into the ground, catching himself. He looked up and the color from his face drained as he saw five pair of eyes looking down at him. "Eh-heh…niiiiiiiice doggy…" He quickly jumped to the side as the five-headed dog beast lunged three of its head down at him. "YEOW!" He yelled as he saw them spit five feet of dirt out of their mouths.

            Lykouleon scanned the destroyed area. "Where's Tintlet?!"

            "Right here…"

            Rath looked up to see a redheaded yokai holding the limp princess in his arms. "FEDELTA!"

            The yokai grinned down at them. "Well, well, if it isn't my good old friend, Rath. Pleasant surprise to see you here…also to kidnap the princess?"

            "Release her now!!" Lykouleon yelled as Rath growled.

            Fedelta just gave him a blank look. "Release her? Why if I did that…" He left his sentence hang as the five dog heads turned up to him, eying Tintlet hungrily.

            "TINTLET!" Raseleane screamed as she ran up behind the Dragon Lord, the Dragon Officers following close behind her.

            Ruwalk restrained her before she ran farther. "Don't, Raseleane, it's not safe!"

            "But that's my daughter!!" she cried.

            "Let us handle this," Tetheus said with an unnerving calm in his voice. 

            "Oh, what fun! The rest of the Dragon Force finally showed up," Fedelta sneered. "Lets see how well you can handle my little pet." He looked down at the beast dog. "Fang! It's feast time…"

            Everyone jumped back to the walls as the humongous creature lunged forward, five pairs of teeth snapping at them. Fedelta laughed as the Dragon group scrambled away from the next attack. "Having fun?"

            Rath glared up at him as he slashed one of the head's eyes, flames erupting from the head. "Let…her go…Fedelta…" Flames started to swirl around him.

            Thatz blinked. "Whoa! Wait Rath!" he yelled as he narrowly dodged snapping jaws. 

            Fedelta just looked at Rath with an eyebrow raised. "So you're showing your true colors? I don't think it would be wise if you attacked…" He nodded to the still unconscious Tintlet in his arms. "She might get hurt…"

            "Dammit," he swore under his breath and he blasted a dog head in fury. 

            "Who sent you?!" Lykouleon yelled, slashing at a head.

            "It would be best if I did not say…not like you would remember…"

            _Remember?! _"What are you hiding?!"

            "I'm not hiding anything. You'd figure it out soon enough…"

            Thatz ran up to Rath, an idea forming into his head. "Rath! Get ready to release Fire!!"

            Rath blinked. "What are you going to—"

            But he was cut off as Thatz gave a yell and jabbed the sword deep into the ground, giant stalagmites erupting from it and stabbing the heart of the demon dog. Rath took the cue and yelled out his dragon's name, making Fire come out of the sword and attack Fedelta. The yokai gave a cry as a dark winds swirled around him and disappeared, along with the now dead demon dog. 

Tintlet floated in the air a little and blinked. "I think…I'm going…to FAAAALLLL!!!" she yelled as she started to fall to the ground, Raseleane screaming.

"EARTH!" Thatz yelled as a dragon that looked like it was made of earth flew up from the ground and caught Tintlet on its back. The dragon looked back at her as he landed.

Tintlet blinked and hugged the Earth. "KAWAII!!! Arigato gozaimas!!!" She turned to Fire, who had reduced himself to his small form and was looking at her with big eyes. "You too!" she laughed as she picked him up and huggled the cute dragon.

Raseleane ran forward and hugged her daughter tightly crying. "Oh Tintlet!!"

Tintlet blinked and gasped for air. "Mother!! You're squeezing both me and Fire!!"

The Dragon Queen blinked and stepped back a bit. Fire, now almost flat as a pancake, slid down to the ground, where Rath picked him up and shook him out to his normal state.

"All right, enough of the attention," Rath said. "Back into the sword."

The Fire dragon held up a sign saying, "NO!!!!"

"Yes," Rath said twitching.

"I don't wanna," was what the next sign said as the dragon crossed his forelegs defiantly.

"GET BACK IN!!" Rath yelled as he tried to force the dragon into the sword, who was holding up several signs saying, "HELP! CRUELTY TO DRAGONS! NO RESPECT TO ONE'S WISHES!!"

Thatz rubbed Earth's head. "Good job, Earth." He turned to Tintlet. "If you don't mind, I need to return Earth back into the sword…"

Tintlet blinked. "Oh." She elegantly slid off the dragon's back and watched as Earth first turned to his chibi form and then entered the sword without commotion.

Rath grabbed Fire. "Why can't you go in like Earth?!??!"

"He's stupid!" was what the sign said.

Thatz blinked as Earth suddenly came out and head butted Fire growling. "Earth!!"

The two dragons growled as they stood there in their small forms, glaring at each other.

"At least I'm smart enough to make signs!" Fire's sign said as he stuck out his tongue, making a vein pop on the Earth's head.

Tintlet grabbed the two dragons before they started fighting each other. "Calm down, two. You shouldn't fight each other."

Earth crossed his forelegs and looked away. Fire just stuck his tongue out while holding the sign, "Stupid! Stupid!"

Tintlet glared at Fire. "You, too, Fire! That's not a nice to write to…er…say to a fellow dragon!"

Her comment made the little red dragon lower his head in shame, holding up a sign saying, "Sorry…"

The princess smiled. "Now make up."

Everyone blinked as the two dragons looked at each other and shook each other's claw. Fire looked at Rath and went into the sword as Earth went into his.

Rath blinked. "Well…that worked."

Alfeegi looked at the damage around them and started to pull his hair. "AARRGGHH!! THIS IS GOING TO KILL THE FUNDS!!"

Lykouleon placed a hand on the white dragon officer's shoulder. "As long as Tintlet is safe, I think it wouldn't matter."

"…True…" He turned to the two Dragon Knights. "So Rath has returned. But what of Water?"

"There's another Dragon Knight?" Tintlet asked curiously, recovered from her near kidnap.

"Yes," a voice said behind her, making everyone turn to see a young woman standing in the hallway, her black hair and purple bangs flowing around her as the wind swirled around her. Her golden yellow eyes looked over at the group and then trailed over to Rath and blinked. "You're here as well?"

"Yeah. Did Dealte send you?" Rath asked.

Thatz blinked. "Dealte? Wasn't she one of the faerie people that gave Tintlet her gifts?"

"Yes," the young woman said as she walked over to them and curtsied. "My name is Cesia," she said as she rose and looked at them. "I have come to take Tintlet to the Water Realm."

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Okay so this was a bit too long o.O *coughs* Anyway…it may seem that I'm straying from the story here but I'm not. It's all part of the total retelling of Sleeping Beauty . Bwahahahahahahahahahaha!!!


	6. Old Friends

Chapter 6: Old Friends

Spwee, that last chapter had several revisions . Well lets keep on going…

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            Raseleane held Tintlet close to her. "Take her where?!"

            "To the Water Realm, where she will be protected," Cesia said blinking. "Don't you remember…?" They all just looked at her blankly. "Er, I guess not," she said sweatdropping and sighed. "Well the princess is seventeen, yet everyone hasn't remembered the truth…"

            "Remember what?" Tintlet asked.

            "The curse," Rath said, remembering what had been nagging him in the back of his mind since he first came back.

            "Rath!" Cesia glared at him. "You weren't supposed to—"

            "It's not going to matter whether they find out on their own or if told. The sooner the better, really," Rath said looking at her.

            "What are you two talking about?" Kai-stern asked.

            "NO!" Raseleane suddenly screamed as she clutched her daughter, making Tintlet blink and start gasping for air. "NOO!"

            "Raseleane!" Lykouleon yelled as he went to her. "What's wrong, Raseleane?!"  
            "She remembers now," Rath said. "Of course she would, she was right there holding her daughter when—"

            "RATH!" Cesia yelled. "Stop it!"

            "Why?! They have a right to know now!!" he yelled right back.

            "What are you two not telling us?" Alfeegi yelled on top of their yelling.

            "Shyrendora…" Raseleane said in a hoarse voice and looked up, releasing Tintlet, much to the princess' relief. "It was…Shyrendora…"

            "Shyrendora?" Lykouleon repeated then blinked. "That's…that's right…"  
            Tintlet looked at her parents confused. What was going on? She figured it had something to do with her, but she couldn't figure out exactly what. "Mother…? Father…?"

            "My Lord…we have to take her to the Water Realm," Cesia repeated softly. "There she will be safe and—"

            "Miyabi…what happened to her?" Raseleane asked, her voice now barely above a whisper as she remembered what happened on that fateful day.

            Cesia looked away. "…We don't know…"

            "What do you mean you don't know?!" Lykouleon yelled then regretted it immediately when he saw Cesia flinch. "I'm sorry…I didn't mean to yell like that but…after the curse everything is foggy. All I remember is Miyabi saying something and then a bright flash of light…"  
            "Yes…and she disappeared…along with all the other faeries…" Cesia looked at him. "Dragon Lord…will you allow me to take Princess Tintlet to the Water Realm? There she would be safe from any more attacks that Shyrendora might send out. Miyabi's spell did not affect her and she is trying to take Tintlet so that she could be sure to…" She couldn't continue and let her voice trail off.

            Ruwalk looked over at the distraught Dragon Queen and over to the Dragon Lord. "Lykouleon…I think we should…"

            "Apparently they can now breach the barrier," Tetheus said. 

            "But we can handle anything that comes at us!" Alfeegi argued.

            "The Water Realm does not have any greater protection than us," Kai-stern agreed.

            "I'll go."

            Everyone blinked and looked at the princess who had just spoken. She had a determined face on and everyone could tell that she would not be swayed. After a few glances at his officers and his wife, Lykouleon nodded as Raseleane led Tintlet back to her room to help her pack some things. It was decided that Rath and Thatz would go along with the princess to guard her and report anything that happened while she was in the Water Realm. It was also decided that no one outside the palace would know of what had happened so as not to bring any more danger to the faerie realm.

            Raseleane hugged her daughter tightly as the group of four prepared to depart. Tintlet was dressed in plain riding clothing so as to not arouse suspicion, though it was hard not to disguise her natural beauty and grace that she already had. Lykouleon held the horse Tintlet would be riding and gave her a final hug before she mounted. Ruwalk comforted Cernozura as the attendant tried not to cry. It was almost as difficult for her as it was for the Dragon Queen, having raised the princess since she was a baby and being like a second mother to her.

            It was almost midnight when the group rode off, Cesia leading with the two Dragon Knights on either side of the princess. Tetheus joined them at the last minute to ensure the princess' safety and rode in the rear. He might not have shown it, but Lykouleon could tell that the Black Dragon Officer was worried about Tintlet as much as everyone else. Thatz also felt a lot safer with the Security Officer with them. Nothing would get past Tetheus.

            It had been two days and the going was smooth and uneventful. Tintlet was thoroughly enjoying herself, making Thatz wonder if she realized how grave the situation was. _Oh well_, he thought, _at least she's happy…_

            "How much farther, Cesia?" Tintlet asked as she rode up alongside her. 

            Cesia blinked and looked up at the sky. "Um…I think a few more miles would do it…"

            "Great!! Lets have a race then!" she said as she shot off ahead. "Last one there's a rotten dragon egg!!"

            "Wait!!" Cesia yelled.

            "Princess!" the two Dragon Knights yelled as Tetheus galloped past them.

            Tintlet just laughed as she urged her horse faster, her long hair streaming behind her. It felt good to gallop freely on the empty road, the sun shining down on them. Even her horse felt relieved to finally stretch out and gallop, the ground being eaten away as he churned his powerful legs over the ground. She glanced back and saw the group catching up with her. She leaned forward to her horse's ears and whispered words of encouragement so that he would gallop faster. And her horse heeded them, now flying over the ground, leaving her friends behind.

            "Damn, what is she thinking?" Rath said as he urged his horse faster.

            "She had to take her own horse, didn't she?" Thatz sighed. "And he happens to be the fastest in the kingdom!!"

            "WHAT?!" Cesia yelled back at them and blinked when Tetheus shot past her like a bullet, steadily gaining on the princess. _Whoa he's fast, too…_ "Go, Tetheus!!" she yelled. 

            Both horse and rider sensed the Dragon Officer coming and her horse was about to take his second wind when a figure suddenly appeared on the road. Tintlet quickly reined her horse in, making him nearly sit down on his haunches as he tried to stop before running into the figure. When Tintlet opened her eyes, she saw that they had stopped inches before the cloaked figure, her horse heaving beneath her as he stood back up.

            Tetheus cantered up to Tintlet and stopped next to her. He looked down at the figure. "Who are you?" he asked then turned to Tintlet. "And walk your horse around. He needs to cool down after a run like that."

            "Er…yes, sir…" she mumbled as she turned her horse around and started to walk in circles until he could breath normally.

            The figure did not move until everyone had reached them, their horses breathing heavily. "It is reckless to run like that," the stranger said, his voice old and leathery. The hood moved to Tetheus and an old, wrinkled hand reached up and stroked his horse's head. "But yours…does not seem to be tired."

            "He can handle running hard for long distances," the dragon officer said without moving. "Answer my question."

            "It has been a long time…since we have met, Tetheus," the stranger chuckled as he removed his hood, revealing and old, gentle face with a long, white beard.

            Tetheus blinked. "Elder?"  
            Cesia gasped. "Elder! What are you doing here?!"

            "To meet you all of course…" He blinked when two things shot past him from behind, making his long bear fly out in front of him.

            "PRINCESS!!" 

            Tintlet blinked when two water lights, one with long blue hair and one with short, and wavy flaxen hair flew around her. "Er…yes?"

            "Don't you remember us?" the one with flaxen hair said.

            "Of course not! She was just a baby when we saw her last!" her friend snapped. She turned and bowed. "I'm Shian!"

            "And I'm Hana-Kusuku!" the other said bowing as well.

            "Welcome to the Faerie Water Realm!" they two energetic water lights greeted in unison.

            "We're…here?" Tintlet blinked.

            "Great! I'm starving!!" Thatz said as he hopped of his horse and started to lead her to the forest by the reins. The mare looked at her rider disapprovingly and tossed her head defiantly as she plodded along. "Right, right," he said grinning as he fed her some carrots, making her change her attitude instantly. "I spoil you too much," he said as he scratched behind her ears.

            Rath sat atop his horse and looked at the old elf. "So, you're the Elder. Dealte has told me a lot of stuff about you…" he said as he narrowed his eyes at him.

            "Eh? I wonder what she told you," he said laughing.

            "How about some things about taking a liking to females…?" Rath suggested, raising an eyebrow.

            The Elder laughed nervously. "Hahahaha…the little kidder!!" He turned around and coughed. "She's waiting inside, so lets go!" he said sweatdropping as he quickly walked into some tall bamboo.

            Rath smiled a bit as he dismounted and followed the others into the thicket while leading his horse. The beauty that greeted them awed all of them, including Tetheus. Several water lights flew around them, showering them with blue sparkles. Tintlet held out a hand and one of the braver water lights flew down and landed on it. 

The water light looked up at her and waved. "Howdy, Princess!"

She giggled. "You're so cute! What's your name?"

The water light flushed as being called cute and cleared his throat. "I'm Ringleys!" He stared at her. "You look as if you could be a faerie…"

"A faerie?" she asked amused as she continued walking, the two Dragon Knights staring at the little water light, Thatz also leading her horse.

"She's not a faerie!" Shian yelled as she flew over and whapped Ringleys on the head.

"Hey! You two shouldn't fight!" Hana-Kusuku said, hovering over them as the two water lights started to fight each other.

"YOU STAY OUT OF THIS!" they yelled and continued to their fighting match in the air.

"WAAHHHH!!" the poor little water light cried as she flew past them and into a faerie elf, who was standing in between the two giant oak trees that created the entrance to the faerie forest. Hana-Kusuku looked up to the faerie elf with big, teary eyes. "Dealte!! They're being mean again!!"

Dealte sweatdropped and gently patted her head. "There, there…" She looked up to Tintlet and smiled. "Welcome, young princess. I'm sure you don't remember me, but I'm Dealte."

Tintlet curtsied. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Dealte."

Dealte held a hand up to her mouth and giggled. "My, I've never had any one from a royal family bow to _me_ before!"

Tintlet smiled. "Well, I'm sure not many people had faerie god mothers either."

Tetheus coughed. "If you are comfortable her, milady, I shall return to Draqueen to tell Lord Lykouleon of your safe arrival."

The princess looked at him. "Oh, Tetheus! Do you have to?"

A rare smile appeared on the dragon officer's face. "Yes, I do. I was sent to keep you safe and I have done just that." He blinked when she suddenly hugged him. "Er…"

"Go back safely, Tetheus," Tintlet said sadly. "Tell them I'll miss them all very much…and you should smile more," she said looking up at him. 

He blinked then grinned. "We'll see." He remounted his horse and turned him back. "We'll meet again. HYAH!" he yelled as he kicked his horse into a gallop, disappearing through the thicket.

Thatz blinked. "Was it my imagination, or did that stern, old, Dragon Officer _smile_?!"

"Will wonders never cease…" Rath said grinning. 

"Yeah…" Thatz blinked when he heard his stomach growled. He sweatdropped. "Hehe…I guess it's time to eat!"

Ringleys popped up next to him. "Food? I'm starving!"

Thatz smiled. "Well now, that's the kind of language I'm talking about!"

Tintlet stood there for a moment. "Um…I'm not really hungry…"

"Oh," the two said, their faces falling.

"No, no! You guys can go ahead and eat," she said sweatdropping.

"YAY!" they said, looking at her starry eyed, a sweat bead appearing on everyone's head.

The Elder coughed. "Right, come along this way," he said as he walked through a grove of trees. "And bring your horses. There is a place for them as well."

"I'll just stay here," Tintlet said smiling.

Dealte blinked. "You sure?"

She nodded. "If you don't mind, I would like to explore around a bit…"

"But…" Dealte started to say.

"Let her," Rath said. "She has to get to know her surroundings now. This is her new home…"

Dealte glanced at the princess then sighed. "As you wish…"

Tintlet waited until everyone walked past her and smiled to herself. "Teehee…thanks Rath!" she said to herself and walked to the side into a grove of trees, wondering what she would find.

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f00m. I've said that before somewhere…o.O; I forgot where though x.x Oh well, anyway what will Tintlet discover?! =O Another yokai? More naturey stuff? Or maybe…well you'll just have to find out yourself . 


	7. Acquaintances

Chapter 7: Acquaintances 

Ho hum hum…you know, this is going to sound random, but if they ever make a DK anime and if they dub it *gags*, I think Lex Lang would be a good voice actor for Tetheus . Anyway, onto the fic…and I like subs better =P Though sometimes the dubs can be good…

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         Tintlet wandered through the trees, several water lights flying around her. She giggled whenever one of them talked to her, their voices so small and yet so perky and energetic. She wondered what it would be like to be a faerie… _It's so nice and beautiful here…and you could have special powers to heal and be…free…_ She sighed and sat down at the end of a log, her long hair trailing behind her to the ground. The sunlight shone down upon her and she guessed it was early afternoon. 

         "I wonder what everyone is doing now…" she asked to herself softly as a small bird flew down to her. She held out her hand and it perched on a slender, outstretched finger. "You're free," she said to the bird. "But I'm still in a cage…"

         "I don't think this place is so bad," a voice said behind her.

         Tintlet jumped, startling the bird. She glanced behind and blinked. There wasn't anyone there. "Hello?"

         "I'm here."

         She turned back around and blinked when she saw a handsome, long blonde haired, pale blue-eyed faerie elf standing in front of her, looking at her amused. He looked to be about her age, though one could never tell when dealing with elves, and was wearing a white shirt with jeans. "H-Hello…"  
         He smiled, making her blush slightly, and bowed. "Greetings, Princess Tintlet of Draqueen, daughter of Dragon Lord Lykouleon and Dragon Queen Raseleane, to the Faerie Water Realm." He straightened. "I take it you had a safe journey."

         "Um, yes, I did," she stammered and looked down at the bird down at her hands so as not to show him her blushing face. _Wow he's cute…_ "And you are…?"

         The elf blinked. "Ack! I forgot about that didn't I?" he laughed and grinned. "I'm…Rune," he said, pausing slightly. _I can tell her who I really am later_.

         "Rune?" Tintlet repeated, looking back up. _Where have I heard that name before…?_

         "That's right," Rune said as he took a seat next to her. "How are things in Draqueen?"

         Tintlet blinked and looked back down. "Um…fine, I guess…just the same…" _Oh my gosh, he's sitting right next to me!! EEEEE!!!_

         Rune blinked and smiled a little. "The water lights tell me they saw you streaking down the road on the way here. Energetic, aren't you?" he said chuckling.

         She sat there, not sure of what to say. Sure, she could be energetic at times, but now for some reason she couldn't think up any sort of question. She realized that Rune was asking most of them and that she was being rude by not answering, but she was stuck! "Um…"

         The elf prince sensed her uneasiness and coughed, changing the subject. "Er, do you like animals?" he asked, motioning to the bird that was still in her hands.

         She blinked. "Why, yes I do," she said smiled as she lifted the bird up to her face. "They're just so adorable…" Tintlet gently stroked the small bird's head, making it chirp a little. "There was this dog, er well I guess you could call him a dog," she added at an afterthought, "named Crewger. He'd always keep me company whenever my parents and the Dragon Officers had to go somewhere. He'd even talk to me," she added smiling at Rune.

         Rune blinked. "You could…talk to him?" _Was that one of her gifts?_

         "More or less," Tintlet said as she released the bird back into the air. "It was mostly him talking. I couldn't really talk back, just understand."

         "So…you can understand what the bird is saying?" 

         "I still get confused," the princess said, giggling a little. "They talk like a mile a minute and its hard to pick up what they say." She turned to Rune. "What about you?"

         He looked up thoughtfully. "You're right, it _does_ take a while. But after a while you get the hang of it. What she is saying right now is 'Thanks for the love and gentleness you have given me. My clan will always look out for you.'" He turned to her. "Seems you have some allies now…" Rune blinked when he found her staring at him. "Uh…"

         "You know…you really look like a girl," she said bluntly.

         Rune fell over then clambered back onto the log. "Why do people always say that?!"

         Tintlet placed a hand to her mouth, giggling. She stopped and turned to him smiling. "I guess its because you look both beautiful and handsome at the same time, especially with that long hair of yours."

         He blinked and turned away, blushing slightly. "Well its not like I wanted that," he said irritated. "It gets really annoying when some guy tries to make a move on you, you know?" He heard her stand up and turned around slightly. "Princess?"

         Tintlet stood there, her hands clasped in front of her, only the side of her face visible to Rune. "No…I don't…" she said sadly. "I really don't know anything that happens outside the palace walls…" She looked around her, a sad smile on her face. "I was never allowed to go out, and I know my parents really didn't like that, but they were just concerned over my safety. I decided on my own to come here, in hopes of gaining some freedom, but…" She turned so that she now fully faced the elf. "Even though his place is so beautiful and that I can walk freely among the trees, I know that here I am still in a prison."

         Rune stared at her as the wind blew between them. The sad smile on her face pained his heart and he wanted to tell her that she was free. But he knew she was right, for it was the same with him. The only outsiders that ever came were either other faeries or some travelers who had last their way. He had always wondered what had happened to the princess after the curse that Shyrendora had placed upon the unfortunate princess. He, too, had not been affected by Miyabi's spell. The thought of what had happened to the water light saddened him and he looked down.

         Tintlet blinked. "Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to place my burdens upon you…"

         "No, no, I was thinking about someone else…"

         She blinked. Someone else? Had he not been listening? The thought irritated her. "Oh I see!" she snapped. 

         Rune blinked. "What?"

         "You weren't listening to me this whole time were you?!" she yelled angrily.

         _What?! _"No, no! That's not what I mea—"

         "Here I am thinking that you'd at least be kind enough to listen to my troubles when you go off thinking about something else!" _No!_ She knew she was blowing this out of proportion and sounding rather selfish but the dam had finally broken and the stress that had been building finally released itself.

         "What?!" Rune yelled angrily as he stood up. "Now see here, I have my own problems, too!"

         "Yes _your_ problems! Its always everyone else's problems that I have to listen to!" she cried, angry tears falling down her cheeks. "No one ever had time to listen to me!" _Stop…_

         "Well if you ask me I think your sounding rather selfish if you want to be always in the center of attention!" Rune snapped.

         His words stung her like a knife as she stood there shocked. "I'm cursed to die in a year and you think I WANT to be in the spot light now?!??! YOU'RE SUCH A JERK!!" she screamed as she ran off, tears streaming.

         Rune blinked. "Oh cripes…wait Tintlet!!!" he yelled after her. 

         "I think you blew it, Rune…" a small voice said behind his ear.

         He blinked and glanced down to see a strawberry colored haired, bright green-eyed water light looking up at him. "Mi…Miyabi…?"

         The water light gave him a weak smile and yawned. "The yelling woke me up…" She stared at the direction where Tintlet had ran off. "You didn't address her as Princess either when you called out to her," she said grinning up at him.

         He flushed. "Oh, hush! Anyway, how long had you been there?!"

         "…I've always been here…remember?" she said in a soft voice.

         Rune wanted to whack himself. He gently picked up the weak water light and held her up in his cupped hands. "I'm sorry, Miyabi…I forgot that your powers…"

         She smiled. "Don't worry about it now, Rune…you should go after the Princess."

         "Gack! You're right! You cause so much trouble, Miyabi!" he said mockingly as he placed the water light back on his shoulder. "Just hang on, okay?"

         Miyabi nodded and Rune sprinted off into the direction Tintlet had gone. She missed flying, though she had learned to live without it. She was happy to be with Rune all the time, and that was good enough for her. Seeing him happy made her even happier, even though she knew Rune could never love her like the way she loved him… _Demo…kamaimasen…_ She looked up at Rune, seeing the deep intent in finding Tintlet again in his eyes and smiled. As long as she was with him, it didn't really matter in the end whether he loved her not, and that was all she wanted.

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KAWAII!!! T_T Well, will Rune find Tintlet and say sorry for being a jerk? . That was rather extreme… but I coulda made it worse by having her slap him.


	8. Truths

Chapter 8: Truths

Ho hum hum…I guess I can make this story short…but I don't wanna T_T In truth I have no idea how long this fic will be o.O Oh well…by the way I thought of another voice actor for a dubbed version of DK. Steve Canon (or was it Cannon…whatever), the voice actor of Clef from Magic Knight Rayearth and Kamui from X (well those are the two I can think of right off the top of my head…wait I think he was the voice actor for Arc from the Arc the Lad anime series, too…) would be good for either Lykouleon or Rune I think…more toward Rune . Don't ask why, but I've just been thinking about this for some odd reason x.x *coughs* Right, back to the original story…

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            Tintlet sat with her back against a tree hugging her knees. She knew she had really blown that whole thing with Rune way out of proportion. She knew that he probably had problems as well. Normally she would have stopped and asked, but for some reason she didn't this time. _He said he was thinking about someone else at the time…_ she thought to herself. Maybe that was it? Had she gotten jealous? She blushed at the thought and shook her head. She felt something press against her chest and reached into her shirt, pulling out a white rose.

            "The rose…" Tintlet stared at it. She hadn't realized that she had placed it there so it wouldn't be crushed with everything else that had been packed. It was one of her most treasured possessions for some reason and when she looked at it, she thought of Rune.

            "Gack! Why did I think of _him_ of all people?!" she said to herself angrily. She stopped and sighed. The rose itself had always been mostly closed up throughout the years, but now it was starting to bloom a little. _Must be because of faerie magic_, she mused. 

            She stood up and stretched a bit, the flower still in her hand. "Maybe I should…apologize," she said aloud as she twirled the rose. She stopped and listened. She could hear Rune calling her name and she felt happy for a moment. She walked toward the direction of his voice and called back. "Rune! I'm over here!!"

            Rune blinked as he stepped out of a thicket and saw her standing by the tree. "There you are! I was looking all over for you." He placed a hand behind his head and looked up awkwardly. "Er…I'm sorry about earlier. I hadn't meant that I didn't care or anything…"

            Tintlet blinked then smiled. "I'm sorry, too. I shouldn't have blown up on you," she said softly as she twirled the rose in her hands. 

            The elf walked over to her and looked at the flower in her hands. "Hey…that's a really beautiful rose you have there." _It looks exactly like…_

            "Yeah…someone had given it to me when I was a baby," she said smiling at him. She blinked and saw movement around Rune's neck. 

            "Must have been a nice pers…" he stopped when he realized that Tintlet had come up close to him and was placing her arms his neck. "H-Hey now!!" he exclaimed, his face turning a bright red.

            "What are you getting so stressed out about?" the princess giggled. "Almost…gotcha!" she exclaimed as she pulled out Miyabi, the water light grinning sheepishly.

            "Hehe…hiya, Lady Tintlet," Miyabi said bowing as much as she could, though it was hard. Tintlet was holding her by the back of her shirt.

            "Oh my," Tintlet blinked and placed the water light on to her hand. "I thought you were a bug or something," she laughed. "Sorry about that, Rune…" She blinked.

            Rune had his back turned to them and was trying to catch his breath, his face still blushing madly. _Good grief, I thought she was going to…to…_

Miyabi blinked and looked up at the equally surprised Tintlet. "You think he has asthma or something?"

            Tintlet looked down at the water light. "Asthma?" She giggled at the thought and turned back to Rune. "Rune? Are you okay?"

            The elf quickly whirled around laughing nervously, a large sweat bead on his head. "Haha! Yep! Just dandy!!" _I can't tell her what I thought she was doing before!_ he thought while still laughing nervously.

            The two girls looked at each other, a sweat bead on each of their heads. Tintlet brought her attention back to Miyabi. "So what's your name?"

            "I'm Miyabi," the little water light said smiling. "And I'm one of your faerie godmothers, teehee!"

            Tintlet blinked. "You…are?"

            "Yep!" Miyabi said grinning. 

            "How come…you don't have wings…?"

            Rune and Miyabi glanced at each other and she lowered her head. "I…lost my powers…when I gave you your gift…"

            Tintlet stared at her shocked. "You…you lost your powers?! Because of me!?! You shouldn't have done that Miyabi!!"

            "It's okay!" Miyabi said quickly. "I don't mind really. The only thing I miss is flying…other than that I couldn't really do much." She gave Tintlet a grin. 

            "But will you ever get your powers back?!" Tintlet cried.

            "…We don't know," Rune said, leaning against a tree. "I've tried healing her, and so have the others, including the Elder…but…"

            "It's what I wished for, Princess," Miyabi interrupted as she stood up, her long, strawberry colored hair trailing onto Tintlet's hands. "I willingly gave up all of my powers so you would be protected from…from…evil!" she quickly said. 

            Tintlet looked at the water light, tears welling up in her eyes. "Just…for me?" she said, her voice cracking. Even though Miyabi hadn't said it out loud, the Dragon princess knew she had meant Shyrendora's curse.

            Miyabi blinked. "Oh, don't cry, Princess!" she pleaded. "I can still talk to animals and sense some incoming danger!" she lied, cringing inwardly. The water light hardly ever lied, but she hated seeing Tintlet like this.

            "But…" She looked up when she felt a hand on her shoulder and saw Rune's gentle light blue eyes looking down at her. 

            "Don't worry, milady," Rune said. "Miyabi chose it. It was not against her will. She may still be able to regain her powers."

            Tintlet turned back to the water light, Miyabi's big, bright green eyes looking up at them. She sighed and closed her eyes. "All right…but I'll help you get your powers back, Miyabi!" she said fiercely, making both Rune and Miyabi blink. "I promise!"

            Miyabi smiled and giggled. "I'm glad I was _your_ faerie god mother," the water light said smiling. She sat down and sighed. "But…I'm hungry!"

            Tintlet laughed. "I guess it is getting late, and I haven't had lunch either…" She gasped. "Oh no, the others will be furious with me if I don't go back!"

            Miyabi climbed up her arm and sat on her shoulder. "Then we better get going!"

            Rune grabbed her hand. "I know a short cut, follow me!" he said as he began to run and dragged the surprised Tintlet after him.

            "But how do you know…?" Tintlet asked as she ran behind him.

            The elf glanced back at grinned. "I watched you guys come in."

            Tintlet blinked and looked down at his hand that was clasped over hers blushing. Miyabi saw the blush and smiled to herself. _It's going just as I had thought,_ she thought to herself giggling. _Wonder how long it will take 'til they realize it?_ she mused. The water light grabbed hold of Tintlet's collar and hung on as the two larger beings crashed their way through the brush. It wasn't long before the two stumbled into the clearing where everyone was still eating. Well, Thatz was at least. The rest were watching him in amazement as he continued to haul plate after plate of food into his mouth.

            Dealte looked up as the two crashed through the bushes. "Princess?" She blinked. "And Rune?!"

            "Haha…hi…" Tintlet said, laughing nervously.

            Dealte narrowed her eyes and walked up to Rune. "What have _you_ been doing, mister?!" she yelled as she glared at the elf, who was now backing up with his hands raised.

            "Dealte! I was just, uh, talking with the princess here!!" Rune said sweatdropping. "HONEST!!"

            "You weren't _doing_ anything else, WERE YOU?!" Several veins were popping from the faerie elf's head.

            "Dealte!" Tintlet intervened as she stepped in front of Rune. She smiled. "Don't worry! We were just talking and Rune showed me the way back."

            "That's the truth, Dealte!" Miyabi added.

            Dealte looked at them then walked back. "Well…there's still some food if you're hungry…amazingly," she muttered under her breath as she looked at the stack of plates that was next to the Earth Dragon Knight. And he was still eating.

            Rune breathed a sigh of relief and placed a hand to his forehead. "Dang, she's been so uptight lately…" _Though I can't blame her…_ he added mentally as he glanced over at Tintlet, who was now walking to the table. He blinked and saw Rath staring at him. _What's his problem?_ he thought annoyed as he walked over and sat between Tintlet and the Elder.

            Rath looked at the elf. "Hm…you're the Dr—mmf," he blinked surprised as Cesia covered his mouth.

            Rune blinked. "Uh…"

            "Haha! Don't mind him!" Cesia laughed then glared at Rath. "He doesn't know yet," she hissed into his ear.

            Rath blinked and nodded. When Cesia released her hold, he glanced back over at Rune. "It's almost as if it was written all over him," he muttered. "He's the type."

            "I know, but we're not so sure," Cesia said quietly. "Only when…you know…"

            The Dragon Knight nodded and watched the elf prince. _Only then…_

            Shian, Hana-Kusuku, and Ringleys flew around Tintlet. "Welcome back, Princess!" the trio said in unison.

            Tintlet smiled. "Thank you!"

            Hana-Kusuku blinked and hovered down to Miyabi. "Miyabi…are you okay?"

            The water light smiled. "Yes…I'm really quite all right." _Man, a lot of people have been asking me that lately_, she thought, sweatdropping slightly.

            "I still say the princess could be a faerie," Ringleys said, making Rune blink and turn slightly.

            "You idiot!" Shian yelled as she jabbed her elbow down onto Ringleys' head. "She's a DRAGON! D-R-A-G-O-N! And a pure one at that!"

            "But still! She has the grace, the elegance, the beauty, and… stuff!" Ringleys persisted, rubbing his head. "And that hurt, you know!!"

            "Of course I know! I meant it to hurt you!" Shian yelled back.

            Tintlet sweatdropped as the two water lights started to fight again. Dealte was about to yell at them to stop when she noticed Rune staring at the Dragon princess. The look that was on his face was filled with awe, puzzlement, realization and…doubt? There was something else there, but she was unsure of what it was. _Could it be…love?_ Dealte shook her head and sighed as the two water lights continue to fight, now taking it onto the table where Thatz was cheering on for Ringleys. She had too much on her mind to think about the prince's love affairs. Only a few months 'til the ill-fated day, and she was still unsure if Miyabi's spell was strong enough. 

            Dealte looked up and caught the water light's bright, green eyes looking into her own deep green ones. She was smiling at her, and Dealte could sense that Miyabi was trying to reassure once more that she was fine and happy with her decision. _But…what if it all was for naught? _The faerie elf could not bear to try and see in her cards whether or not the princess would live past the age eighteen. What Miyabi had done had been unexpected, though. _So…maybe…_ She felt a hand on hers and saw Cesia looking at her worriedly. 

            "Dealte…are you okay?" her friend asked.

            "Yes…I was just…thinking about the future…"

            "The future is on everyone's minds right now," Rath said. "But, no one can accurately predict the future, Dealte," he added looking at her. "Not even the best of fortune tellers."

            Dealte looked back across the table where Tintlet had finally intervened and had calmed the two water lights down. _Maybe…_

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La dee da! I seem to like saying that…I think I'll speed up time in the next chapter . Ho hum hum…I can't think of a good English voice actor for Rath yet…anyone have any ideas? . If you do, put in your review if you want XD Oh, and I just like using faerie elf for the girls =P Don't know why, but I do XD R&R!


	9. Bonding

Chapter 9: Bonding

WHEE!! Colorado was so nice!!!! ^.^ Wish I could have gone mountain climbing…better yet, I wish I could have ridden T_T But they ride western style…I've only ridden in English….;; Right, back to Sleeping Beauty, er Tintlet, er Faerie…WHATEVER!! O_o

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         The next five months seem to pass by quickly for Rune. The young elf prince had yet to reveal his title to Tintlet, but he didn't really feel the need in telling her. She seemed to enjoy his company as much as he enjoyed hers. He wondered why. He had never been alone, what with all the water lights that inhabited the Water Realm. Even now, as he was turning this thought in his mind, Tintlet was sitting in a field of flowers, several water lights dancing around her. He was watching from a low hanging branch, his back against the tree, one leg dangling from the branch. _What is it?_ he wondered. 

         "Rune…RUNE!!"

         He jumped up and nearly fell of the branch. When he felt his balance return, he looked up to see Miyabi sitting on a smaller branch, frowning down at him. "Miyabi? How long have been there?"

         "I'VE BEEN UP HERE CALLING YOUR NAME FOR THE PAST TEN MINUTES!!!" she yelled, a vein popping.

         Rune sweatdropped. "Sorry, Miyabi…"

         The water light looked at him thoughtfully. "What are you thinking about?"

         He blinked and looked up at her distractedly. "Eh?" 

         "You're not paying attention to me…" Miyabi said, narrowing her eyes. She jumped down onto his head and stood up. "Rune! You better not be thinking about anything pervertish!!" she yelled as she stomped on his head.

         "Ow!" he laughed. "I'm not, I'm not!" He gently picked her up and she stood on his palms, her arms crossed with a defiant look on her face. "Yeesh, you know me better than that!"

         "…" The water light turned around and let her arms hang. "I know…"

         "Then what's the problem?"

         "…" _I can't tell him…_ She turned back around and smiled. "You were just acting weird! I was just checking to make sure!"

         Rune blinked, looking at her. "You sure?"

         "Mhm!" Miyabi twirled around and jumped onto his propped up knee, still keeping her back toward him. "I think the water lights have grown very fond of the princess, don't you agree?"

         "Seems so," he agreed, letting his hands droop back down onto the branch.

         There was a moment of silence. "Rune, what do you think about Lady Tintlet?" Miyabi asked in a soft voice, not turning around.

         He blinked. "What do…I think?"

         "Yeah."

         Rune looked up thoughtfully. "Well…she's nice, innocent, gentle…definitely not a spoiled princess," he added laughing. A thought came to him and he stopped, still looking up into the high branches above him. A breeze flew through, making the soft green leaves rustle and Rune's hair blow around him. "Almost as if she was…" _A faerie…_ he finished silently.

         Miyabi stood there, her hands gripping the hem of her shirt. She knew what Rune was thinking. She had been with him for so long now, she believed she knew him better than he knew himself. She had also known to expect what he was feeling, but yet she couldn't bear the thought now that it actually had come to an existence. The water light felt the tears welling up in her eyes and hastily brushed them away. One more month until the fated time would come. One more month until her power to counter the curse that Shyrendora had first placed would be tested. _Just one more month…until Rune leaves me…_

         Tintlet, her white dress splayed out on the ground as she sat in the field of flowers, watched the water lights zip around her. How bright they were, casting multitudes of bright colored sparkles down upon her. Hana-Kusuku was sitting on her right shoulder, telling her things about the Water Realm. Normally she would listen to the water light, but there was something else that seemed to take her mind's attention away. Something that had been there since she had entered the Water Realm. Something that she did not quite understand…

         She could vaguely hear Hana-Kusuku saying that she thought Shian had a crush on Ringleys and she could hear herself giggling at the thought. Yet, she seemed to be so far away from where she actually was._ Maybe this is all…just a dream…_ she thought to herself as Hana-Kusuku continued to talk. _Maybe I'll wake up and find myself back in Draqueen…_ The thought of her parents created a sharp stab of pain in her heart. She missed them very much, having not seen them since she had arrived to the Water Realm. Tetheus had been the main Dragon Officer who had come down to check on her, Kai-stern being the other. Her parents had sent with them gifts and words of love, but it wasn't the same. She knew that they were too busy back in Draqueen, and now with Nadil's army roaming about, rather dangerous to leave. 

         _But you are not any safer… _a voice suddenly said in her head. _Your parents have sent you _away_ from the protection that you need. These…faeries cannot protect you from…me…_ The voice began to take shape in her mind and a pair of red-purple eyes seemed to pierce right through her soul. _Princesssss…_ A head was now taking shape. Long, silvery white hair swirled about the woman's face, three red striped markings forming. A long hand was slowly reaching out to Tintlet and it suddenly grabbed her throat.

         Tintlet wanted to scream, to cry out, but she couldn't open her mouth, much less move or hear what was going on around her. Everything around suddenly became dark and the only thing that she could see clearly was the woman's face. A demented look swept across her attacker's face and seemed to change form. The grip around her neck tightened. _I…I can't breathe…_

         _DIE PRINCESS!!_ The woman now had the face of a beast, her once slender hands now scaly and her fingers turned to claws. Still holding Tintlet with her left hand, Shyrendora held up a sword, the point glinting from an unknown source of light. Tintlet found her voice and screamed as the sword plunged down toward her heart. 

         But it did not pierce through her. Tintlet felt something swirling around her, and something splashed lightly on her face. _Water…?_ She slowly opened her eyes only to find herself surrounded by a wall of water. She could see Shyrendora backing away with her arms in front of her as if to shield her face from the bright light that emitted from a creature that stood in front of her. 

         _This is not the last of me, Princess!_ With a bright flash of dark light and smoke, Shyrendora disappeared.

         The beast that had been standing in front of the wall of water now turned its long, slender neck and looked at her with pale, light blue eyes. It was hard to see exactly what it looked like for the water was still swirling around her. But after a moment, the water calmed and disappeared all together, and Tintlet could see she was facing a beautiful, white dragon. As she reached up to touch its elegantly shaped head, the dragon seemed to flicker for a moment. 

         _Everything is all right now,_ it was saying, as she felt herself coming back to consciousness. _For I…no, _we_ will protect you…_

         _We…?_ she repeated as the dragon started to fade and everything started to come back.

         _Tintlet!!_ A voice was crying out to her. A voice that sounded so familiar…

         The dragon looked up into the direction of the voice. _Yes…we._ And with that, the darkness disappeared and Tintlet felt herself being shaken. _…Rune…?_

         "Tintlet!!" Rune yelled shaking her. "Tintlet, wake up!!!"

         She blinked and slowly opened her eyes to find Rune staring down at her, several water lights hovering over them. She blinked as he suddenly hugged her to him. "Rune…?"

         He just held her tight, a feeling of relief washing through him. _She's all right…thank the spirits she's all right…_

         Tintlet blushed. "R-Rune…"

         Shian hovered over them. "Rune! Dealte will kill you if she saw you holding the Princess like that!" she said gleefully. The response he gave her surprised everyone.  

         "I don't care." He pulled back and stared into the Tintlet's light blue eyes. "That was no doubt one of Shyrendora's attempts to kill you, Tintlet!" His looks softened. "When I saw that dark wind surrounding you I was scared out of my wits. I realized then that I didn't want to lose you," he said softly, making her blush. "And that's why," he said with great determination in his voice, "I'll stay right by your side and protect you!"

         Everyone, Tintlet most of all, looked at Rune shocked. His face was also slightly flushed, but the water lights couldn't tell whether it was for the emotion he felt for the princess or the anger he felt for the yokai. They concluded it was a mixture of both. Hana-Kusuku and Shian, however, looked down at Miyabi, who was watching from atop a flower. They knew she loved Rune more than anyone else did, and they wondered how their friend was taking it. She may not have admitted it openly, but they could tell she was the happiest when she was with Rune. The two glanced at each other worriedly.

         They were not the only ones who were worried about Miyabi. Two more people were watching the scene that was unfolding. 

         "She won't be able to come back to that field now. It's too close."

         "I know."

         There was a pause between the speakers.

         "Dealte, I'm worried about that water light."

         "I know, Rath…but what can we do?"

         The Dragon Knight looked down at the faerie elf who sat beneath the tree he was sitting in. She had a tired look on her face, yet relieved that the water had accepted the Princess. _It was one of her gifts…_ "I guess we could keep a watch on her. Rune is going to look after the princess like a hen."

         Dealte giggled a little. "I guess…He's very protective over things that he loves…" She sighed and looked up at Rath. "Demo…"

         He nodded. "Wakata. If Miyabi falls too deep into despair…" 

         _Everything is lost…_ Dealte finished sadly.    

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*sniff* Poor Miyabi T_T How will she fare? Find out in the next chapter…Confusion. Boy that sounded like a preview for an anime…o.O; You know, they say "Find out in the next episode of *insert series here*…Whatever" . Right…R&R ^^;;


	10. Confusion

Chapter 10: Confusion

Waah! I feel bad for what I'm going to do now T_T Oh well…u.u If you want to know, or have an idea of what might happen, just keep reading to find out! 

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One week.

Just one more week left, and everyone from both sides knew it. One week until the princess turned eighteen. One more week to live.

Everyone tried to act normal around Tintlet, but it was hard. They kept glancing over their shoulders and many couriers were coming in from Draqueen inquiring the Dragon Lord's daughter's health. Each time the faeries had told them all was well, but all was not well. Tintlet was now confined to her makeshift room located within the Water Realm. Only those who had permission from the Elder were allowed to visit her. This excluded the Dragons, Rune, Dealte, Cesia, and the water light trio that always hung around. Miyabi was usually with Rune, so she had no problems.

Ringleys sat on the top of a one of the bed poles, looking down at Tintlet. She was sitting in a large, cushioned chair. "Princess, are you hungry yet?"

Shian flew up and spin kicked him off the pole. "That's a rude thing to say, Ringleys!!!"

The water light quickly caught himself and flew back up, glaring at Shian. "That wasn't nice either, you know!!! That's a long drop from up there!!!"

"Please, please!!" Hana-Kusuku pleaded, hovering in front of them. "Fighting does not sol—"

"YOU STAY OUT OF THIS!" they yelled.

Hana-Kusuku hovered there, clenching her fists, a rather large vein popping on her head. She had had enough. "WILL YOU TWO SHUT UP!??!??!"

The two blinked and immediately stopped. They stared at the irritated water light. "Hana…Kusuku…?"  
            "All you do is fight!!" she continued. "Will you two just GROW UP???!?!" She blinked then looked down embarrassed. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell…it's just…"

"…" The two recently fighting water lights glanced at each other. "No, we're sorry, Hana-Kusuku," Shian said.

"Yeah, you're right," Ringleys piped in. "We'll try not to fight again…"

The water light looked at her friends teary-eyed. "Oooh!!" she cried as she hugged them.

Tintlet smiled and turned to Rune, who was sitting on the edge of the window seat, looking out with his head against the window. He had not been paying attention and looked deep in thought. _He needs to relax some_, she thought frowning and got up. She quietly walked over and poked him. "Rune?" No response. "…Rune…?" Again, no response. _What is he thinking about?_ Tintlet thought a little annoyed. She poked him harder even though it wasn't going anywhere.

It was then that she suddenly realized that Rune was asleep. She smiled a little and looked at his peaceful, sleeping face. _He must be so tired, trying to keep an eye on me every waking moment and all…_ She covered him with a blanket and returned to her seat and watched him. _He looks…kinna cute…_ She blushed slightly at the thought and looked away before her little friends noticed her. To her relief they were still playing around in the air, their quarrels now at an end.

However, Miyabi had seen it all. The little water light had no idea what she was feeling at the moment, sitting on the end of the dresser. It seemed to be a mixture of happiness, anger, sadness, and pride. She was happy and proud that Rune had finally, if subtly, admitted his feelings for the Dragon princess back at the field. But she was also very upset because she knew that she could no longer keep Rune for herself. _But that's selfish of me!_ She shook her head angrily. _NO! I WANT Rune to be happy!!_

            _But you aren't really happy, are you, Miyabi?_ The water light blinked as she stood up. She saw a mirror image of herself standing in front of her, everything else slowly disappearing. She did not notice the flames that were surrounding the image and the malicious grin that was on the image's face. 

            _Who are you?_ She watched her other self walk around her.

            _I am you!_ The image giggled and wrapped her arms around Miyabi's waist. _Teehee…I am part of you, Miyabi…_

            _Part of…me…?_ Miyabi stood there, paralyzed with confusion. 

            _That's right…_ the other Miyabi said, a sly smile on her lips. _I'm the part that you have kept deep within yourself… You want to be happy don't you?_

            _Deep…within myself…_ She was falling deeper and deeper into her subconscious, and the other Miyabi knew it. _I want to be happy…_

            Flames started to surround both of them. _Teehee…Miyabi…if you want to be happy…just get rid of the obstacle…_

            _Obstacle?_ That didn't sound right.

            _That's right…_ The voice was now very close to Miyabi's ear and something was trying to warn her. _Kill…Tintlet…_

            _NO!_ Miyabi screamed and wrenched away from her other self's hold. _I won't!!_ She whirled around and faced the image angrily. _You're NOT me!!_

            The other Miyabi just gave a grin that made the real Miyabi's blood run cold. _Oh, contraire, Miyabi…_ The flames blazed around them. _I am…the real you._ She laughed hysterically as the flames engulfed her and disappeared.

            Miyabi gasped blinking and found herself back where she was. Everyone was still doing what he or she had been doing, though now Rune was awake. He was apologizing to Tintlet for falling asleep, and the persistent look on his face made the water light smile. Yet, her smile wasn't truly a happy one. It was more of a longing, sad one. She had never seen Rune like the way he was whenever he was with Tintlet. 

            _Are you jealous?_ The voice returned, but this time her surroundings didn't change. She could still see Rune and Tintlet talking. _You wish you were Tintlet don't you?_ The voice had a slight giggle.

            "Yes…" Miyabi said softly then shook her head. "NO! GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT!!" she screamed, covering her ears with her hands.

            Everyone looked up at her startled then hurried over to Miyabi, who was now clutching herself shuddering. Her eyes were wide open as she stared at them. 

            Tintlet gently picked her up. "Miyabi? Are you okay…?"

            "Yes…I just…had nightmare of sorts," she answered, smiling a little. 

            Rune leaned down so that he was eye level with her face. "Miyabi…are you sure?"

            "Yes!" Her heart panged when she saw the concern in his light blue eyes. "I'm really okay, Rune…"

            The elf looked at her a little harder and his eyes widened slightly. _No…there can't be a…shadow?_ He shook his head and banished the thought from his mind. "…If you say so, Miyabi. You know you can always talk to me if you need anything," he added smiling.

            The water light smiled back at him. "I know!"

            There was a gentle knock on the door. "Lady Tintlet, I have your dinner," Cesia's voice came from outside. 

            "Come in," Tintlet said smiling as Cesia came in balancing two trays on each arm. She had another smaller plate on her head. "The door is always unlocked, you know," she added giggling.

            "That is going to stop, as of today," Cesia said sternly as she placed the two trays down on the table and carefully placed the plate on next to them. "This is really not the time to slack off."

            Ringleys flew down and saw that the plate that had been on Cesia's had four smaller plates with small meals on them. "YAY!! FOOD!!" he yelled as he shot down and started scarfing down the food.

            "Ringleys!!" Shian yelled as she came up behind them. She caught Hana-Kusuku's glare from the corner of her eye and restrained herself from punching his face in. "Er…you shouldn't eat like that…" _Man, she's scary when she's angry…_

            Ringleys blinked and looked up. "Oh…"

            Tintlet giggled. "It's okay," she said as she sat down at the edge of her bed. "I'm not hungry at the moment…"

            "OH NO IT'S STARTING!!!" Cesia yelled loudly, making Dealte and Rath and Thatz suddenly run in. 

            "Nani, nani?!" Thatz yelled looking around.

            Dealte stood in front of the flabbergasted Tintlet, her hands on the princess' arms. "Are you okay?!"

            "Um…" Rune started to say, a large sweat bead on his head.

            "Any yokai around?!" Rath yelled, hand on hilt. 

            "No…uh…" Rune tried to say.

            "OH SWEET FOOD!" Thatz exclaimed, only to be blocked off by Shian.

            "That's for Lady Tintlet, Thatz!!" the water light said angrily. 

            "But it looks yummy…" Thatz sobbed.

            "Uh…hello…" Rune twitched as everyone continued to create chaos within the small room. "EVERYONE CALM DOWN!!" he yelled at the top of his lungs, making everyone suddenly stop and look at him. He sighed and walked around a bit, hand on his forehead. "Okay…now Cesia…what does not being hungry have anything to do with anything?"

            "I, uh," she stammered and sat down next to Tintlet. "I'm sorry…it's just that there's just a few days left…and…and…"

            Rune softened a bit. "All right, I understand. But everything is _fine_," he said, stressing the word. "But overreacting over every little thing is not going to help things."

            "I know…" Cesia felt like a little girl being talked to this way, and normally this would offend her, but her mind was too full with Tintlet's curse.

            Tintlet smiled. "Everything is fine! And I have faith in Miyabi," she added, her eyes shining at the little water light who was still in her hands.

            Miyabi smiled embarrassed. "Lady Tintlet…"

            "You sacrificed so much," Tintlet added softly. "It _has_ to work…" A sad look crossed her face. _Yet what if…_

            Miyabi blinked and straightened. "It WILL work, Tintlet!" she said fiercely. "It was a pure wish and it WILL work!!!" _Yes, it _has_ to!_

            The Dragon princess blinked and gave her a small, gentle hug. "Thank you…Miyabi…"

            When Miyabi looked back up at everyone, she saw the sad smiles on their faces and faltered for a moment. _Do they…do they not trust my powers?_

            _Miyabi…_

            She shook her head and looked back up defiantly. "Everything will be all right! I know it!!"

            _It will fail…_

            Dealte smiled, happy to see Miyabi so sure of herself. She gently picked up the water light from Tintlet's hands and placed her on a pillow. "Well, it's been a long day. Time for bed!"

            "Awww! Already?" all four of the water lights said.

            "Yes," Cesia said sternly and walked toward the door. "Come on…THATZ!" she barked as the Dragon Knight tried to steal some bread.

            "Haha! Just checking for food poisoning!" he said, laughing nervously as he saw the glare in Cesia's eyes. _Yeesh…what a grouch, he thought as he stalked out of the room._

            Rath chuckled and followed the two out. "Night." 

            Dealte paused at the doorway and coughed. "Rune…"

            The elf blinked. "Yes?"

            She twitched. "You're _not planning on staying here…are you?!"_

            Rune sweatdropped when he saw the flames in Dealte's eyes. "I'll be on my way in a little bit. I haven't had a chance to eat yet, and neither has the Lady Tintlet," he added hastily.

            "…" Dealte sighed and turned. "Very well. Night." And with that she quietly shut the door.

            Rune leaned against a wall sighing. "Yeesh, she's so uptight. It's not like I'm going to _do_ anything!"

            "Oh, I don't know about that, Rune" Shian said slyly as she flew around him. "I've been watching you and I saw that look in your eyes…"

            "SHIAN!!" Rune yelled, grabbing her. "You know me better than that!!!"

            Tintlet giggled, as well as Miyabi. "I don't think Rune would do anything, Shian," Tintlet laughed. "He's too much of a gentleman."

            "Teehee, except he sometimes snores at night!" Miyabi burst out laughing.

            Rune blinked. "I do not!" he said defiantly and turned away grumbling.

            Tintlet giggled as she handed Rune his tray. "Come on, before it gets cold.   They sat in silence as they ate the still warm food. When they were finished, Rune stacked them on the desk so that he would take them out later.

            Ringleys yawned and flew over to one of the small seat pillows. "Boy…I'm really…tiiiiired," he yawned.

            Tintlet got up and helped him settle in on the pillow and placed a small piece of cloth over him. Rune found Hana-Kusuku already asleep on the bed and he gently carried her over to another seat pillow, where Tintlet covered her up with another small piece of cloth. They had some trouble in trying to coax Shian into sleeping as well, but the water light's own sleepiness made her finally agree. When Rune went over to check on Miyabi lying on the small bed pillow, she was already asleep and he covered her with a small piece of cloth. 

He walked back and sat on the window seat sighing. "Boy, water lights can sure be like little kids."

Tintlet sat on the edge of the bed, careful to not disturb the sleeping Miyabi. She smiled at him. "Yes, but they are so cute!"

He grinned. "Yeah, I guess you can say that…"

"Do you consider them your brothers and sisters?"

Rune looked up thoughtfully. "I guess I do," he said smiling. "I want to protect them, even if it costs my life. They mean so much to me…" 

Tintlet looked down at Miyabi. "I've never really had brothers or sisters…just the Dragon Officers, Mother, Father, Rath, Thatz, Cernozura and of course Crewger," she added smiling a little. "But…I've never had anyone my age to play with when I was little…" she said softly. 

Rune stared at her. _I am still in a prison…_ The words from their first conversation echoed in his mind. She had always been alone, even when she wasn't. He wanted to reach out to her, to hug her, to hold her, to…comfort her. But he quickly stopped himself. He could feel the awkward silence against his skin and it made him shudder. _What is it that I want to say? What is it that I feel?_ He coughed and stood up. "Well, um, it's getting late so I think I should get going before Dealte comes along."

Tintlet blinked and stood up. "Oh, okay." She smiled. "I always enjoy your company, Rune," she added. "It makes it feel…less lonely."

Rune blinked, his hand on the door handle. He kept his back turned so she wouldn't see the light red coloring that was beginning to spread all over this face. _Why is it that I always feel like this when I'm with her?_ "No…problem…"

"Is something wrong, Rune?"

He blinked and glanced back at her smiling. "No, nothing at all!" he said hastily as he opened the door. "Well, night Tintlet!" he said quickly and went out, closing the door behind him.

Tintlet blinked. "Didn't call me 'Lady' this time…" she said thoughtfully. She turned back around and saw the trays on the desk. "Erk, he forgot to take out the trays!" she exclaimed and went to the door to call Rune back. 

She was almost to the door when it suddenly flew open, Rune starting to say he had forgotten the trays. Caught off balance, she started to fall backwards. Rune quickly leaped forward and caught her in his arms so that he was now holding her off the ground, looking down at her.

"R-Rune," Tintlet stammered, blushing. "Um…"

Rune blinked and hastily brought her back down. "S-Sorry about that…"

"It's okay," Tintlet said looking down. She suddenly felt his hand tentatively run through her hair and looked at him. "Rune…?"

He just stared at her with a sad look on his face. He slowly ran his hand down through her hair and down to her cheek, and upon reaching it he kept it there. The feeling felt warm and comforting to Tintlet, but she looked at him questioningly. He stared at her for a moment then placed his other around her and held her to him. "You remember…what I had told you the other day don't you?"

Tintlet felt her heart pounding as her cheek rested on Rune's chest. "That…that you would protect me…no matter what the costs?" she stammered.

"Yes," he said softly. "So don't worry about anything, okay? I'll always be there for you."

She looked up and suddenly found his face very close to hers. Her heart seemed to jump and flutter around as she looked up into Rune's light blue eyes, which were filled with such a desire to protect. But was there something else in those blue orbs?

Rune blinked and pulled away hastily. "I'm, uh, sorry about that," he stammered as he quickly turned, picking up the trays. "It's getting late so I better let you rest." He opened the door and stepped through. "Night." 

Tintlet stood there as he quietly closed the door. When it shut, she slowly placed her hand to where Rune's had once been and closed her eyes. _What is it that I'm feeling…?_

Miyabi had watched the whole scene from her pillow, tears now welling up in her eyes. _Rune…_ she thought despairingly as she buried her face into the pillow so that Tintlet wouldn't notice.

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*sniff* T_T I'm feeling REALLY bad now for what I'm going to do…T.T I just get too emotional over things *sob* I'm starting to wonder if this is becoming more of Rune and Tintlet romance fic o.O; Stick to the story, stick to the story, stick to the story…*repeats that several times* Well stay tuned for Chapter 11…Deception. O.o Another anime preview sounding thing…R&R .;


	11. Deception

Chapter 11: Deception

Boom! We're nearing the end my friends! *sob* I'm gonna make a Jack and the Beanstalk parody with Thatz as Jack! XD! If I keep this up, I should start a collection of DK fairy tales…anyone got any requests? Or suggestions? I'm always willing to listen ya know =D *coughs* Well, READ ON!

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            It was now the eve of Tintlet's eighteenth birthday, and the Water Realm was as hectic as ever, placing protection spells all over the place. Anyone who tried to enter the Water Realm who was neither faerie nor Dragon would find themselves deep inside a large forest. It was also forbidden to bring Tintlet any gifts, especially anything that had to deal with flowers. Everything would be tested on the following day. Everything rested on Miyabi's counter spell. 

            Miyabi was standing on the windowsill, gazing out the window. _Will it work?_ she thought to herself. A light, evening rain was starting to fall and the drops slowly slid down the glass. _It should work. I sacrificed all my powers because I _wished_ it. I _wanted_ to do that…_

            _Or did you?_ Her reflection from the window moved. _Did you _really_ want to sacrifice your powers?_ The reflection stepped out from the glass and now stood next to Miyabi, who remained silent, unable to move or shout out. 

            _Why do you come again…?_ Miyabi managed to say weakly. _Why do you come and torment me…?_

            _Am I that much of a bother?_ The other said, her hair blowing in an invisible wind. The strands took hold of Miyabi's neck and arms and legs. _Do I hurt you that much?_

            _Let me go_, Miyabi said painfully, trying to wrench the choking strands away from her neck. _Let me go…_

            Flames flickered in the shadow Miyabi's eyes. _But I can't, Miyabi_, the voice said, a hint of glee in it. _I'm always with you. I _am_ you…_

            _No…NOOOO!_ She screamed and a bright flash of light surrounded her, cutting the strands of hair that had bound her. 

            The other raised an arm to shield herself and cringed. _It's useless, Miyabi_, she said as the light flickered and disappeared, the real Miyabi now panting heavily. _You lost all of your power. And for what? For a silly princess!_

            _…_ Miyabi could feel herself losing. _No…I can't…_

            The shadow Miyabi walked forward and wrapped her arms around the real Miyabi's neck. _Miyabi…you love Rune don't you?_

            Miyabi stood there silently, numb with confusion. She could feel her body weakening both from within and from the outside. _Yes…_

            _But it's rather difficult since you are a water light,_ the other continued. _Maybe…you can take Tintlet's body…_

            _NO!_ she screamed and tried to push her other self away. _Let me go! You're not me!_

            But the other would not loosen her grip. _But I am, Miyabi. I'm the part of you that you left deep within yourself. I'm the part that you refuse to believe that exists. I am all your hatred and desires molded into one. _She leaned her face closer. _Miyabi…accept it. You want Rune for yourself, don't you? You've known him longer than that princess has. And…you will live longer,_ she whispered with a malicious tone in her voice. 

            _No…that's not what I want…_ Miyabi protested, her voice and spirit weakening. _I want Rune…to be happy…_

            _He can be happy with _you, the other countered. _He has always been happy with you, right? So why can he not be happy with you, and just you? Miyabi, I can give you the power you want. You want to get rid of Tintlet. When she is gone, your powers will return to you…_

            At that moment, Rune had entered the room, escorting Tintlet back for the night. The shadow Miyabi turned the real one toward them. _Look at your dear Rune…isn't it obvious? He's choosing _her_ over _you_…_

            _But…if he's happy…_ she started to say but stopped. How can Rune be happy with a girl that will die tomorrow?

            _That's right_, the other said, an evil smile on her face. _In the end, he'll just be sad. That's not what you want right? You want the best for Rune…_

            _So…I have to make him…_ Forget all about Tintlet. The thought struck Miyabi with a sharp pang. That was what she had been feeling this whole time. She was jealous of the Dragon princess; of the one who had taken the one she loved the most. 

            _Tonight…at the strike of midnight_, the other Miyabi whispered in her, _she will be eighteen, and you know what that means, right? _The water light nodded her head, as if in a trance. _Then,_ the other said as she leaned forward,_ let me into your heart and take your soul…_

            Miyabi snapped out of the trance when she felt the other's lips press onto hers. She wanted to push her other self away, to scream out and warn the unsuspecting Tintlet. But the shadow was too strong, and to the water light's horror, it began to take a different a shape and began to enter her body. "NOOOOOOO!!!!!!!" she screamed as the form completely entered her body and started to take over. She could faintly see Rune and Tintlet hurry over to her and heard herself saying that everything was all right. But it wasn't her that wasn't talking, for she herself was slowly slipping away from this world.

            Rune picked up the water light. "Miyabi, are you sure you're all right?" _I've been asking that far too many times now…_ he thought frowning a little.

            "I'm fine," she smiling. "I'm always fine whenever you're around Rune!" And to their astonishment, Miyabi flew up and hugged Rune's neck. 

            "Miyabi…you're flying!" Rune exclaimed. 

            The water light blinked and flew around some. "I am!!! Rune!! I got my powers back!!" she exclaimed gleefully as she flew around him, light sparkles falling from her. 

            "I'm so glad, Miyabi!" Tintlet said smiling. "Everyone is going to be so happy when they see you!"

            The water light slowly turned to her. "Yeah…I'm sure they will!" she said slowly, smiling.

            Rune blinked. Something didn't seem right. The way Miyabi was looking at Tintlet made him shudder. There was something else, too…but he couldn't pinpoint it. What was it? He gently caught the excited water light and held her in his hands. "Okay, Miyabi," he said, smiling softly. "We need to let the princess have her rest…" His voice faltered for a moment. 

            Tintlet blinked and looked at him. "Rune, are you okay?"

            His hands shook for a moment, making Miyabi fly back up looking cross. He stared at his hands then shook his head. "No, it's nothing…" _That presence…_

            Miyabi hovered around the elf. "Rune, _you_ should get some more rest," she said in a parental tone. "You've been staying up worrying over Lady Tintlet for far too long…" _And it will soon come to an end, my _dear_ Rune_, she added silently, a smile playing on her lips. 

            "Maybe…" _I have to clear my head_, he thought wearily and walked to the door. His hand paused at it touched the handle. _This might be the last time I'll ever see her_, he thought with a sickening shock. He remembered holding her that other night, how soft and warm she had been, so delicate and yet also so strong. What had compelled him to do that? And now, after tonight, everything could shatter and she would… He shook his head. He couldn't bear the thought of being without her, and was about to tell her so when she started talking in a soft voice.

            "Rune, thank you for everything," she said smiling. "I've really enjoyed my stay here."

            He whirled around angrily. "Don't talk like that!" he yelled. He was about to yell some more when she placed a gentle finger on his lips.

            "Don't worry," she said softly. "I have trust in Miyabi…and in you," she whispered as she gave him a soft kiss on the cheek.

            The elf blinked and stood there in shock. Miyabi hovered above him for a moment then pulled on his shirt collar. "Come ON, Rune," she urged, making Rune snap back to reality and fumble with the door handle. 

With a hasty "Goodnight," he left, Miyabi following swiftly after him. He walked up the stairs, up through the tree that held the secret passage into the Water Realm, and through the hidden door. He leaned against it and sighed, some of his long hair trailing over his shoulders and down to his waist. He placed a tentative hand to his cheek and held it there. _What is this…feeling?_

"You love her."

Rune blinked and looked at Miyabi, who was hovering next to him. "Miyabi?"

"I said, 'You love her,'" she repeated, this time with more ferocity. "You love her, don't you Rune?!"

He straightened and looked at her puzzled. "Miyabi, what's wrong?"

"Answer me, Rune!!" she shouted. _Your answer seals her fate_, she thought and smiled inwardly. _Listen, Miyabi, for he will now tell you the truth._

The elf prince stood there in silence. _I love her? Is that it? Is that why I always want to be with her, to hold and to comfort her? To stay by her side and be there, ready to protect her…?_ "I…I do…" he said softly. He reached up and plucked a flower from one of the hanging vines. "I…love her…"

As the clock struck eleven, Miyabi turned her back to Rune. "I knew it," she said, her voice hard and cold. "I knew it all along…"

Rune blinked and looked up at her. "Miyabi?"

_Rune! _The real Miyabi cried from within. _Run away!! Save Tintlet!!_ But her small, weak voice could not reach him, and all she could do was stay bounded inside her soul, which was slowly being eaten away by the yokai that possessed her now. 

The water light slowly turned, an evil gleam in her eyes. "Yes…I guess you can call me that…" Her voice had changed dramatically. It sounded as if it would fit an adult woman than the small body of the water light. "It's a shame that you love her," she continued. "For it will be by my hands that Tintlet shall die."

            Rune stared at her horrified. "Miyabi! What are you thinking?! You're the one who protected her from Shyrendora's cu—" He blinked and straightened. "You're…"

            Miyabi smirked as it drew closer to midnight, her hair blowing around her wildly. "I must thank you for giving the…princess that rose from so long ago," she said laughing. "It makes things so much easier!!" She started to fade. "And it being in full bloom…what a pity that love will destroy everything!" she laughed maniacally as she disappeared completely.

            Rune quickly turned and tried to go through the entrance but found the door locked. "What the hell?!" he yelled frustratingly as he shook the door. "TINTLET!!" he screamed as he banged on the door. _Why won't it open?!_  His blood ran cold as a loud scream could be heard from within. "NO! TINTLET!!!!"

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From a fairy tale to a romance to a slightly horror fic? O.o odd…But anyway, we're nearing the end! R&R!


	12. Attack

Chapter 12: Attack

Sorry for the late update. *gets out popcorn and a soda* I had writer's block for BOTH of my fics .o; *sits and gets fingers ready* Hm…do I finish it with this chapter…or be evil and extend it…hm…*throws some popcorn into her mouth* Only one way to find out and you know what it is…READ ON!

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            _One hour before midnight…_

            Tintlet sat in the window seat and gazed out the window. The clock struck eleven. _It's getting late…_ she thought to herself as she got up and got dressed for bed. As she opened a drawer, her hand touched something. She gently picked it up and took out the white rose that she had kept hidden from the others. It was now in full bloom and, to her surprise, sparkling. It reminded her so much of Rune, and yet she could not figure why.

            She sat down on her bed, placed the rose on her lap, and started brushing her hair, humming a soft tune. _One more hour…one more hour 'til what? Until I die…?_ She sighed as she paused her brushing, her hand stopping where Rune's had been just the other night. She blushed as she remembered the incident, how he had held her so close to him, and how close his face had been from hers. _Will I ever be held by Rune like that…again?_ A sob caught in her throat as she felt a tear trail down her face. _Will I ever see his face again? Will I ever again hear his comforting words, to see that charming smile and feel the warmth of his touch against my skin?_

Tintlet buried her face in her hands as her body racked with sobs. "I don't want to die!" she wailed. "I want to stay here and be with Rune!!" And there she sat, the pent up sadness and confusion that had been growing inside her now flowing out in uncontrollable tears. As a tear fell onto the rose, it began to shine with a soft light.    

"Tintlet…Lady Tintlet…" 

The Dragon princess blinked. "Who's there?" she said in a cracked voice, hiccupping slightly. She glanced down at the rose. "What…"

"_Lady Tintlet…_" it was saying and started to glow brighter. "_Lady Tintlet, do not be afraid…_" The clock was striking midnight and dark winds started to blow around her.

"Where…what are you?" she asked hesitantly as she lifted the rose. She dropped it instantly and looked at her hand. It was bleeding. The rose had turned a blood red and sharp thorns had grown out of the stem. She clutched her hand, the pain coming from the wound now growing unbearable and starting to overwhelm her. _It hurts…why does it hurt so much…? I can't…breathe…_ She could faintly hear Rune's voice. 

Shyrendora stood in the room, a smile of pure evil satisfaction on her face as she watched the princess screaming in pain. "How does it feel, princess? To be trapped in pain so terrible that you would wish to kill yourself…yet can't!"

Tintlet looked up at her and gasped. "Shyren…dora…what…do you…mean…?"

The yokai glared down at her. "What do I mean?! For eons all you Dragons ever did to us was bring unspeakable pain and torture into our lives! All we ever saw was suffering and darkness!" She paused. "But it doesn't matter now," she said smiling. "Now we thrive on the pain and suffering of others, even if it means one of our own. It is because of your race that we are what we are now!" The next words she said made Tintlet's blood run cold. "And it is because of your race that we are grateful for now loving the feeling of pain and suffering."

_Because of…my race…?_ She clutched her body as she screamed out in pain. 

"You should also be grateful for your little friend for letting me use her as a gateway to your room!" Shyrendora laughed. "It seems her heart had been corrupted because of you!"

Tintlet looked over and saw Miyabi floating in the air, her body limp and the color faded. "No…" she gasped then screamed, "NOOOOOO!!!!" as Shyrendora's laughter filled her ears. Her vision started to get blurry and she could feel herself losing strength. _No…I can't die…Miyabi…_ She saw a bright flash of light burst out of the rose and felt something rushing toward her. 

Rath, Rune, and Thatz crashed through the door right as the light filled the room. "TINTLET!!" Rune yelled as he ran forward, only to be blown back by a blast of dark energy. 

"We can't get close enough, to her," Rath yelled above the deafening winds that now filled the room. 

"Good grief, this place will break if we don't so something!" Thatz yelled.

"We can't just stand here!!" Rune yelled and pushed himself up. _I have to save her!_

"FOOLS!" Shyrendora laughed as she seemed to grow in size, the room crumbling around them. "You can't save her now!"

Tintlet clutched the side of the disappearing wall and saw Rune. "Rune…" She gasped as Fedelta suddenly emerged from the rose, his sword glinting in the light.

Shyrendora looked down at him and smiled. "So this is who Shydeman sends me? Very well…proceed."

Everything went in slow motion in Rune's mind. He watched in horror as Fedelta swiftly turned and plunged his sword into Tintlet's heart and disappeared back into the rose. The scream rang in his ears as he moved forward, what had once been a twenty-foot distance now seemed to be a hundred. Rath pulled him back and Thatz held him as he tried to pry himself free, screaming out. He couldn't believe. He would not believe it. Tintlet wasn't dead. That wasn't blood that was pouring out from under her lifeless body. Her eyes weren't blank and clouded over. These thoughts ran through Rune's numbing mind as he watched her slowly fall to the ground, her golden hair streaming behind her. 

Shyrendora laughed maniacally as the Dragon princess fell with a dull thud. "I'VE DONE IT! I'VE KILLED OFF THE ONLY HEIR TO THE DRAGON TRIBE!" she laughed hysterically. She slowly turned and looked at the trio, madness in her eyes. 

Thatz jumped back. "She's whacked!" he yelled.

Rath gritted his teeth as he clenched his sword. He was about to call on Fire when he saw movement in the corner of his eye and turned. His eyes widened as he saw Miyabi glowing. "Miyabi…she's…"

Thatz turned and blinked. "Good grief, something else is glowing now?!" he said irritated. "If I see one more thing glowing I swear I'm going to –OW!!" he yelled as Rath kicked him in the leg.

Rath glared at him then turned to Rune who had his face averted from them. "Rune! Look! Miyabi is _alive!!_"

It took a moment for it to register into Rune's already half-frozen brain. He slowly turned and widened his eyes in surprise. Miyabi was floating in the air, her wings sparkling in the bright light. She slowly flew down to the lifeless Tintlet, seeming to not notice Shyrendora staring at her in shock.

Miyabi hovered above Tintlet and looked down at her sadly. "_It's all my fault… But she is not dead quite yet and I will try to undo the harm that I have done…_" Water started to surround both her and the Dragon princess. "_Lady Tintlet, I call forth the powers of the Water Dragon to revive and heal your wounds, and that you may stay safe away from Shyrendora._"

"That Water Dragon?" Rune repeated softly. 

"NO!" Shyrendora hissed and advanced toward Miyabi, only to repelled by a bright burst of light.

The water light turned to the yokai, her green eyes hard and cold. "_Leave this place, Shyrendora! And do not return! You do not belong here, nor will you ever will._"

Shyrendora glared at the water light. "Fool! I will not comply to an insignificant pest!" She began to change shape, her body now covered in scales. "You ssshall wisssh that you had never messssssed with me!" she hissed as her body changed to half snake, half dragon and lunged her head at the water light.

In an instant everything was filled with water and blue light. The water swirled around Tintlet and encased her in a case of ice and water. Shyrendora screamed as daggers of ice pierced through her body and hastily turned as dark winds surrounded her. She disappeared right as a bright flash of light filled the room.

Rune heard something fall to the ground and quickly turned to see both Rath and Thatz lying on the ground. Panicked he quickly bent down and shook them. "RATH! THATZ!!" He saw their chest rising and falling gently. _They're asleep…asleep?!_  He looked around frantically and suddenly found himself surrounded by water. But he wasn't in the water…was he? He wasn't sure but he didn't feel wet. Miyabi and Tintlet were both gone and when he turned around, he stepped back startled to find the two Dragon Knights gone as well. All that there was surrounding him was water. _Where in the world was I?!_

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This is what I get when I try to type something very confusing and fast o_O; Chaos! Well sorry if it was rather uh…rushed o.o; but I just wanted to get this part over with .o; I know what I want to do in the next part, but this part was troublesome @_@ Anyway, if you understood it, good for you! =D if you didn't, sorry x.x; I know it seems kinna confusing with a lot of scene shifts, but oh well . Stay tuned for chapter 13!


	13. Within the Realm of Water

Chapter 13: Within the Realm of Water

Sorry for late updates, like I said in my other chapter (and other fic…) writer's block (nasty little things they are ) and Grandia Xtreme . Good game, love the excessive battles ) honest that wasn't sarcasm o.o; Right…uh where were we? Oh yes, Rune is somewhere he has no idea where o-o Anyway, READ ON!

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            Rune walked forward, unsure of what to do. He was weaponless and he couldn't feel any faeries or elves around him. He was also cut off from his magic source. His mind was fuzzy as well. He could not remember what had happened before or how he got where he was. Running a hand through his blonde hair he looked up, expecting to see more blue water. But instead he blinked and shielded his eyes as a bright flash of light greeted him. When it dimmed to where he could see without shielding his eyes, he removed his arm and squinted upwards. _Is that…land?_

"_Rune…_"

He blinked. "Hello? Is someone out there? Or in here," he added softly as his voice echoed around him. After a moment of silence, he sighed and continued walking forward, only to run into a wall. "OW!" he yelped as he rubbed his head. "Where the heck did that wall come from?" He blinked. "Oh great! I'm talking to myself! GACK I'M DOING IT AGAIN! ARGH!!" He grabbed his head and took deep breaths. _It's okay Rune…you were just thinking out loud…you weren't talking to yourself…_

Resting his head against the now visible wall, Rune pondered on what to do. _Well, can't go forward obviously…maybe I should just follow this wall and see how far it goes…_ Nodding to himself he placed one hand on the wall and followed it. To his amusement and surprise, the wall only became visible when he touched it. After a few minutes of walking, he stopped and looked back. He sighed, a sweat bead forming his head when he soon discovered that he had gone into a complete circle and that the only door out had been right behind him from the beginning.

"Figures," he grumbled as he turned, keeping a hand to the wall. "It _always_ happens…" He sighed loudly and continued walking, making sure he kept his hand to the wall. It wasn't too long before he figured out that he was in a sort of maze. He looked up again to find the white light still shining down on him. _It least it's not dark in here_, he thought dryly as he continued walking, retracing his steps at every dead end and turning at the first opening he got to. 

After an hour, he stopped at another dead end and blinked. "Wait a second…I'VE ALREADY BEEN HERE!!" he screamed, his words echoing around him, and slumped against the newly formed wall. _I'm. Doomed. Haha._ He looked up again at the white light. _What is that?_ He stared at it pondering. _Maybe it's going to crash down upon me and end my misery_, he thought dryly. He blinked when he suddenly saw it start to lower down to the ground. "I WAS JUST JOKING!" he yelled as he jumped up, ready to bolt back to where he had started. 

"_Rune…_" The voice echoed around him. "_Everything is going to be all right, Rune. You have nothing to fear._"

The elf whirled around. "Who's there?" he asked hesitantly and stepped forward.

"_Rune…don't you know me?_" The voice giggled. "_Silly Rune…come on! Call out my name…_"

He could tell it was a female's voice, but he had no idea who could it be. Yet that laugh…sounded so familiar. It suddenly struck him like a bolt of lightning. "Miyabi?!"

Immediately a full-grown Miyabi flew gently down to Rune, her now dark strawberry colored hair flowing around her. Her bright green eyes gazed down at him smiling. She twirled around, her long white dress swirling about her. "_What do you think? Teehee!_"

"Mi…yabi…?" Rune stared at her in disbelief. "Is that really you?"

"_Yes, it is! I'm now a full faerie instead of just a water light._"

"A full…faerie?!" _So that's how it works…was I a water light, too?_ He shook his head. "Anyway, what are you doing here?"

"_To help you find Tintlet._"

"Tintlet?" The name triggered something in his mind, but he still couldn't figure it out. "Who's Tintlet?"

Miyabi blinked and hovered closer to him. "_You don't remember Lady Tintlet? Rune, she's the Dragon Princess! And…_" she paused hesitating.

Rune cocked an eyebrow. "Dragon Princess? I don't remember any Dragon Princess coming into the Water Realm. Anyway, Miyabi, where the heck am I?"

The faerie stared at him for a moment then turned to where a platform now hovered in front of them. "_We are…in the heart…_"

"The heart of what?!" The elf was growing rather impatient, wanting to get back home. He stopped when he saw the look on Miyabi's face. It was filled with sadness and despair. He had seen this face before and it panged it heart. _What…a memory?_

Miyabi turned away from him and closed her eyes sighing. "_The heart…of the Water Realm…_"

Rune blinked. "The Water Realm? We're in the _heart_?!"

"_Yes…and it is also where the Water Dragon…and its Princess sleeps…_"

_Princess?_ "A princess?" he repeated dubiously. "I don't remember hearing anything about a princess. Nor a dragon for that matter!" He laughed. "Come on Miyabi, stop playing tricks. Let me guess, you and Shian and Hana-Kusuku are trying to pull a joke on me, right? What, is it April Fools' Day?"

He stepped back when Miyabi suddenly turned around, glaring at him. "_Rune! This is _not_ a joke! The Dragon Princess is in great peril!!_" _What is wrong with him?! _Miyabi thought irritated.

Rune placed a hand on his forehead. "Okay…which Dragon Princess are we talking about here?"

"_The same one!!_" Miyabi said exasperated. "_Just COME on!! Before something happens to her!!_" She quickly flew over to the platform and hovered above it. "_Rune!!_"

He sighed and walked onto the platform. "Right, right." He crossed his arms expectantly as the platform slowly rose upwards. "So this was that bright light…"

Miyabi hovered next to him silent. About midway, she turned to him, a look of distress on her face. "_Rune, do you honestly not remember anything up until this point?!_"

Rune blinked and looked at her. "No…well, last thing I remember clearly is you and the other water lights playing tag…then the Elder called me for something… The rest is just fuzzy."

 "_…You really don't remember anything about them…_" _It's as I feared_, she thought silently. _The spell…didn't put Rune to sleep, but…it removed his memories instead._ She clasped her hands together. _Oh, my dear Rune… I never thought it would come to this… You don't even remember ever meeting Lady Tintlet, or loving her… _She saw the carefree look on his face and sighed. _And yet he looks so…happy… He doesn't realize the ultimate battle…and possibly the ultimate sacrifice that is about to come._ She blinked when she heard Rune calling her name.

"Miyabi! Get off the platform! We're already at the top!" He waved from the landing port. The entrance of a large cavern was behind him. _What is she thinking about?_

The faerie flew over to him and stood next to him. It felt odd standing so high from the ground, not to mention now being almost the same height as Rune. She stumbled a little but quickly caught herself. "_I'm just…not used to this height_," she laughed nervously.

Rune just smiled and walked forward. "So it's pretty much a straight path, right?"

"_Yes…but be careful. Nadil has already sent forces into the Water Realm, trying to get to the Dragon Princess before you do…_"

"And…why am I doing this again?"

"_RUNE!_"

The elf cringed, a sweat bead forming on his head. "Hey, I was just kidding," he grinned. "I'm the prince of the Spirit Tribe _and_ of the Water Realm. Can't have a bunch of yokai intruders disturbing this peaceful realm, right?" He winked and waved. "Well I'm off."

Miyabi stared after him in wonder. "_Rune…_" She blinked. "_Rune, do you have a weapon?_"

Rune stopped in mid-stride and blinked. "Uh…actually…I don't!"

The faerie smiled softly and raised her hands in front of her. A sword formed from a bright flash of light. "_Here…may it help you defeat your enemies,_" she said as she handed it to him.

To his surprise, the blade was relatively light and he could easily swing it around easily. "Not bad…new power?" he asked glancing at her.

"_No_," she said smiling. "_More like…a gift._" _Can't tell him everything…_

He raised his brows then turned back to the entrance. "Okay, NOW I'm off! Wish me luck!" 

Miyabi watched him as he finally entered the deep cavern and clasped her hands in front of her. "_Oh Rune…I hope you will recover your memories before you reach Tintlet… I wish that I can go with you but…_" She sighed as she started to fade and flicker. _I'm not even…_

Miyabi… 

She felt the water swirl around her and closed her eyes. "_It was so nice…seeing you again like this…Rune…_" She disappeared.

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*sob* T_T Well, did Miyabi die?! TOT We'll see…anyway, what lies beyond the cavern? Will Rune regain his lost memories? Stay tuned for Chapter 14: Title not yet Determined! . lol R&R!__


	14. Final Battle

Chapter 14: Final Battle

Hahaha…been a while, ne? .; Ugh, I've been busy with papers and drawings, lol! At any rate, is this the last chapter?! What will happen to Miyabi?! Will Rune remember his memories before it's too late?! Will we ever figure out why Fedelta was even put into this fic to begin with?! Will Shyrendora see that her curse stays and have the demons take over the Water Realm?! Will Lykouleon and the rest ever make another appearance?! Will I be evil and just not FINISH this fic? .; lol XD I'm not that evil . Probably only one or two of those questions will be answered in this chapter, lol. Thank you for being patient with me .o; Well as I always say, READ ON!

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            "_TIDAL CRASH!_"

            A gigantic tidal wave of rushing water slammed the mass of yokai that surrounded the elf prince into the cavern wall, leaving them slumped up against the rock unconscious. The path was now clear once more for him to continue. He sighed and walked forward, his eyes darting left and right. Rune had not expected to find so many yokai already infesting the once calm realm of the water. It disgusted him, but there wasn't much he could do at the moment. He had to find this dragon and this princess. 

            _Princess?_ Rune thought as he walked through a long corridor. _Princess…a dragon princess? Why would the Elder not tell me?_ He frowned at the thought and brushed his bangs back as he reached another large room, a hoard of yokai waiting for him.

            "Not again," he sighed. "Right, well who would like to die first?" he asked as he lifted his hand slightly, water starting to swirl around him. When the yokai charged at him as one mass, he closed his eyes. "You guys don't know when to quit, do you?" he muttered as he raised his hand high above him, the water flying upwards with the motion. His eyes snapped open, now a cold, dark blue, as he yelled, "_BLIZZARD STORM!_"

            The yokai yelled out in pain as the water instantly changed into pelting daggers of ice, freezing them in their places. It was only a matter of moments before the hoard turned into one gigantic ice block. 

Rune walked forward, his boots clacking against the frozen ground. When he reached the center, he closed his eyes and with a voice so cold that it would make anyone's blood freeze, he said, "Ice shatter," and snapped his fingers, making the ice explode around him. Everything that had been encased in ice now turned to dust.

He glanced back. "Bakas." He walked onward, his determination to find the dragon and its princess rising with every step. It did not occur to him that he had never had the power to do such a devastating spell like the one he had used in his previous battle before. The only thing that was on his mind right now was to continue onward and find the Water Dragon.

The elf did not have to go much farther, however, as he turned the last corner of the cavern. He stepped out from the corridor into another room, only this one was three times the size as the previous ones, and those had been rather large. He looked up, only to shield to his eyes from the bright light that shown down from high above him. He turned his gaze back down and blinked when he saw a life-sized statue of a dragon. _Is that…_ He stepped forward. _This is it…this is the water dragon!_ Rune ran the rest of the way, his footsteps echoing in the large room. When he was a few feet away, he noticed something in front of the statue. 

Rune slowed as he reached the steps that led up to the dragon statue and the now visible table. He walked up the steps, staring up at the dragon in awe. Its magnificently carved head seemed to be looking right at him, its wings spread wide and seemed to shield the table that stood in front of it. _What the…is that a person?!_ Rune thought startled as he ran up the last few steps. He leaned over the table breathless and stared at the beautiful young lady that was resting on the table. "What in the…why is a girl sleeping here of all places?" he asked aloud. But the longer he stared at her face, the more something seemed to be trying to take shape in his head. 

Rune… Prince Rune… 

With a shaky hand, he reached over and gently brushed back a strand of hair from the sleeping princess' face. "She's so beautiful…" 

Miyabi's voice could be heard faintly somewhere around him. Rune, wake up! 

            Images of Miyabi in her water light form flashed before Rune's eyes as he stared at the young lady who still slept peacefully on the marble table. 

_What are you thinking about Rune?_

_You're thinking about _Tintlet_ aren't you, Rune? _

Teehee, don't give me that look! I can see it in your eyes! 

            _She's so kind and sweet…I can see why you like her, Rune, teehee!_

"Rune…you love Tintlet…don't you?" 

            The elf prince blinked and looked up to faintly see Miyabi looking down at him, her bright green eyes filled with sorrow. "_Rune…do you remember her now? Don't you remember Tintlet? The one…you love?_"

            "Tintlet…" he repeated softly. What was that? A face? Was it…her face? He closed his eyes and concentrated. _Tintlet…the name sounds so familiar…_ A new voice started to enter his mind.

            _I'm so sorry to trouble you, Rune!_

_            You don't have to stay up so late just because of me Rune…_

_            You know…you look a lot like a girl…_

            Even now…I'm still in a prison… 

            Rune felt the water swirl gently around him. _In a…prison…?_ That's right. It was one of the things she had said in their first conversation. It had stayed in his mind ever since and had kept him up on some nights, trying to understand what she had meant. "I remember…Lady…Tintlet…"

            "What a shame…I was hoping you had forgotten completely so that I wouldn't have to kill you."

            Both Rune and Miyabi turned to see Shyrendora standing at the bottom of the steps. "Shyrendora?!" Rune yelled as he drew out his sword.

            The yokai smiled. "Oh, it seems you remember me, too." Black winds started to surround her. "And thank you for leading me here, Prince," she said, her voice becoming deformed and there was a slight hiss. She was starting to change once more into her monster form. "I can now kill both the dragon and the princessss!"

            "_NO!_" Miyabi yelled as she quickly flew down and clutched the statue of the dragon. "_Rune you can't let her do that!_"

            "Oh you bet I won't," he said as he raised his hand. "_ICE TORNADO!_" he yelled as a tornado of ice flew around the yokai. When the storm cleared, Rune stared shocked to see no damage had been inflicted on the monster.

            Shyrendora laughed, her laughter echoing in the massive room. She had now turned herself into a black dragon with a tail of a scorpion. "So how do you like this form? Fitting that a dragon should _kill_ a dragon!" she laughed.

            "Not really!" Rune yelled as he ran down and quickly plunged his sword into her chest. _Now I've got her_, he thought as he heard her piercing scream. But he was denied of his victory as he felt her claw grab him, the sharp talons digging into his skin.

            "You think that would kill me?" she laughed as she brought him up to eye level. "I cannot be killed so easily!"

            Rune screamed in pain as she tightened her grip. _Dammit, this is _not_ looking good_, he thought angrily to himself. _Change of tactics. _"This is a rather cheap way to kill someone," he said glaring at her. "I was hoping to have more of a fight."

            The yellow eyes narrowed at him. "Brave words for someone who's in a rather delicate situation, wouldn't you say, Prince?" she spat out.

            He turned his face away as green fire flickered out of her mouth. "Ugh, and talk about needing a breath mint." _Just a little more…_

            Anger rippled through Shyrendora's monstrous body. "What did you say, boy?" she hissed. "Do you really want me to end your miserable life?"

            Rune just looked at her defiantly. "You couldn't kill me even if I was a disabled babe." He grinned as she roared with anger and felt the grip loosen slightly, just loose enough to pierce the scaly claw with the ice dagger he had formed while taunting her. She roared again, only this time with pain and fully released the elfin prince from her grasp. He landed neatly on his feet, one hand on the ground as he looked up smirking. "Don't ever take me lightly," he said as he ran over and grasped the hilt of the sword. He was about to take it out when he suddenly heard a voice. 

"_Use me, Prince. Call out my name._" 

He turned to see Miyabi hovering over the sleeping princess staring at the statue. His eyes widened slightly as the statue began to glow a bright blue and start to shimmer. It started to crack and chips of rock started to fly off to reveal something white underneath. _Is that…_ Rune felt the power flow through him. "Yes…WATER DRAGON COME FORTH!"

Everything seemed to stand still as the rock shattered to reveal a beautiful, slender white dragon, its wings spread wide and blue fire roaring from its mouth. A brilliant soft blue light surrounded the graceful figure. When Rune felt time start again, he glanced down at himself and blinked in surprised. He was now wearing blue dragon armor and the sword had changed shaped as well. "What the…am I a…"

"_Dragon Knight,_" Miyabi said as she appeared in front of him. "_You have finally awakened to your powers. Now, use Water to defeat Shyrendora and cast her off the face of this world._"

"But I…" Rune started to say but stopped when the faerie placed a slender finger on his lips.

"_Believe in yourself, as I have always believed in you. I will even lend you my power to aid you in this battle._"

"No wait, Miyabi!" Rune yelled as streams of light flowed from the faerie to the newly found Dragon Knight.

She just smiled as her body started to fade. "_This way, we can always be together, right?_" Her eyes fluttered and Rune caught her as she collapsed. 

"Miyabi…" He gently laid her down at the foot of the steps. "I won't be long, just hang in there!" he yelled and turned back to Shyrendora, who was now engaged in battle with the angered Water dragon. "Uh…well I guess I could watch for the moment…" he said, a small sweat bead forming on his head. _Well Water is sure fighting like hell…_ he thought as the dragon fired huge ice boulders at the yokai.

The dragon was magnificent. Nothing seemed to be able to touch him as Shyrendora kept trying again and again to put even a scratch on him. He just nimbly evaded her attacks and countered with one of his own, most of the time finding their target. Rune could see that the yokai was tiring from all of this and roared in anger as she began to transform once more. Two more pairs of wings sprouted from her back, as well as two more heads. A new scorpion tail replaced the battered old one, it being one of Water's first targets. The sword stuck out of her chest like a small needle protruding from the side of a one hundred-story skyscraper. 

Things were not looking too well for Water now. He could barely dodge one attack and another oncoming attack from the other two heads, and with the extra pair of wings, Shyrendora was able to deflect his mostly all of his counterattacks. 

Rune shielded his face as a deflected shard of ice flew at him. "Damn, if things keep up, this place will crash in onto itself," he muttered as he saw the cracks starting form alongside the rocky walls. He looked up just in time to dodge a piece of stalactite that had fallen from the cavern roof. It was glowing brightly. _So that was what made the bright light… _He blinked. _If things start falling…_ "THE PRINCESS!" he yelled as he ran over to Tintlet. He skidded to a halt as he turned back and picked up the frail Miyabi. "Almost forgot," he laughed nervously and then ran back up to the table where the cursed princess lay.

As he reached the top and gently laid Miyabi down at the foot of the table, he saw rocks falling from the roof. _Dammit, I don't know how to put up a shield! Ice wouldn't work!!!_ He stood over Tintlet using his body as a shield and braced himself for the incoming rocks, but blinked when nothing happened. He looked up to see a heaving water dragon standing above them, his wings outspread.

"_Prince…are you all right?_" the dragon said slightly breathless. His voice was soft and calm, yet fierce and filled with worry at the same time. 

Rune placed a gentle hand on the sweaty dragon's shoulder. "Yes I am…thanks Water." He frowned and stared at Shyrendora. She was looking at them, her yellow eyes filled with deep anger and annoyance. "Water, I think she wants to end this."

"_I agree. Use the sword and pierce her heart with ice._"

Rune blinked. "But I already tried that—"

"_You were halfway. A dragon's heart is deeper within. Use my power to seek it and shatter it._" The dragon turned his head and looked down at the slightly confused elf prince. "_Turn it to dust._"

"To…" The image of the yokais encased in ice shattering flashed through his mind and his eyes hardened. "Got it." He turned and slowly walked to the roaring yokai.

"What do you plan on doing, Prince?" she spat as she fired green blasts of fire at the Dragon Knight.

He just continued walking, not flinching when the flames flew harmlessly past him. "I'm just going to transform your heart."

She laughed. "Is that so? You amuse me, Prince." She smirked. "If you feel so confident, then try it."

Rune had by now reached the sword and had his hands around the hilt. "You will not be disappointed." He closed his eyes. "_Waters of life, waters of death, come and heed your Master's wishes. Seek this monster's heart and keep it bound with chains of ice until I command you to release it._"

Shyrendora just laughed. "You fool! Do you think that your small magic can…" She shivered. "What's this?" The yokai looked down at herself and found that she was starting to be encased in ice. "What?! You don't have enough power for that!" She laughed as she expanded her chest, shattering the ice. "You're just weak."

The elf just looked up at her and grinned. "Whatever you say, Shyrendora. But you won't be singing the same tune when I'm finished." _That's it._

Water started to swirl around the yokai. Tendrils of smoke flew up from her mouth and nostrils as she looked about her warily. "What sort of illusion is this?" She gasped as she felt her throat of constricting.

"Does it hurt?" Rune said, his voice smooth and taunting. "How does it feel to have your own throat squeezed? Like you did to Tintlet?!" he yelled as he tightened the icy binds that were within her body. 

_How can he do this to me?!_ Shyrendora thought angrily and summoned all her strength and malicious power to break the internal bonds. "You've wasted your chance," she roared as she lunged at Rune, firing red blasts at him. "NOW DIE!"

Rune cringed as he quickly jumped out of the way and rolled to the side only to leap back up as the earth erupted below him. He could still feel the water binds that were wrapped around the yokai's heart. But something was holding him back from finishing her off. What was it?

Water leaped in front of him, deflecting Shyrendora's next attack just in time. "_Rune, finish her!_" he yelled as he lunged at the yokai's throat. 

Rune shook his head and closed his eyes. "Ice shatter," he said icily as he snapped his fingers once more. 

"NOO!" Shyrendora shrieked as she felt the explosion within her. The room was filled with her horrendous screams as all her internal organs exploded. The sword flew out and landed a few feet away from Rune, its tip dug into the ground. Blood poured from the yokai's eyes, mouth, and the now gaping hole in her chest. The body crashed to the ground, a lake of blood growing from beneath her. 

Water stood beside the nauseated Dragon Knight and also turned his head away. Shyrendora was finished at last.

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Well we have some questions answered: This is not the last chapter, Rune regained his memories, Shyrendora is now dead, and Miyabi hasn't died…yet . Lol, well I hope you enjoyed that…rather odd chapter. Okay maybe not odd…but yeah…stay tuned for Chapter 15: The Kiss of Life and Love . Sappy title right there .o; R&R!


	15. The Kiss of Life and Love

Chapter 15: The Kiss of Life and Love

Just read.

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            Rune stood horrorstricken in front of the rotting corpse as his sword clattered to the ground. He stepped back, unable to tear his eyes off from the sickening image.

            "_Rune…look away, Rune._"

            "But I…how could I…?!" 

            Water lowered his elegant neck and turned away. "_What's done is done. You did what was right. You should feel no sorrow or shame._"

            "But this…this power…" The elf prince forcefully closed his eyes and turned away. _How can I have such destructive power?_

            "_It is because you are of Royal Elfin blood…and also a chosen Dragon Knight._"

            Rune blinked and looked up at the dragon. "I'm a…what…?"

            Water made a low rumbling noise and turned back to where Miyabi and Tintlet lay. "_You will know in due time. First you must awaken the Dragon Princess._"

            "And how am I supposed to do that?" Rune asked as he slowly walked up the steps. "She was put under a spell…" _And I killed the one who placed it on her…_

            When he reached the top of the marble steps, stepping around the various pieces of rock that had fallen from the ceiling, he was startled to find Miyabi hovering around Tintlet's sleeping form. Though she had given almost all of her powers to Rune, she had placed a shield over the Dragon Princess, and the elfin prince suddenly realized with a pang of guilt that she had also returned to her water light form. "…Miyabi…"

            The water light turned slightly and the barrier faded, allowing Rune to walk toward the alter. He stopped and looked up at Miyabi, pained to see how weak and faded she looked. _Almost as if she was a ghost…_ Frightened at this thought, he held out a hand to his faithful friend and was comforted by the solidity of her small hand. But the comfort was suddenly shattered. She flew down to him and Rune reached to catch her, only to feel her pass right through him. Before he had time to even react, Miyabi burst into millions of soft glowing lights. His arms were still frozen in their outstretched position as memories of the water light flashed through his mind. And as the soft glowing orbs of light started to flicker, he heard Water's voice.

            "_Don't grieve, Prince Rune…for you will meet her again…_"

            Rune turned, searching for the dragon, but found that he was nowhere to be seen.

            "_I am inside of you and that is where I'll reside. Go and wake up the Dragon Princess without any fears or sorrows. Miyabi will be reborn in due time._" And he said no more.

            _Reborn?_ Rune stood there, his mind overwhelmed by these new events. But he remembered the still sleeping Tintlet and looked at her. He let his gaze drift from her waist, to her slender clasped hands, and finally to her still ever beautiful face.

            "Tintlet…"

            He had loved her since the day she had arrived, only just realizing his feelings when Shyrendora's curse had taken its toll. Or had tried to. It had gone away thanks to Miyabi's counter spell. But everyone every one in the faerie realm except himself was put to sleep, and would stay in this enchanted slumber unless he broke the curse.

            Unconsciously Rune had slowly moved a little closer to the head of the alter was gently moving a stray strand of golden hair away from Tintlet's delicate face. He could faintly hear a soft, familiar voice echo in his mind as he inched closer to the sleeping princess.

            _Free her. Free the Faerie Realm. But most of all…free yourself…_

            His lips met hers and he felt a surge of warmth flow through his body and into hers. They were soon surrounded by a brilliant golden light, everything disappearing into it. When he pulled back he saw Tintlet's eyes flutter open. The two  were now floating in the golden void, sparks of light showering down on them. 

            When her eyes were fully open, Tintlet blinked and looked around her. "…Where am I…?" Everything started to flood black into her mind as she slowly turned back around and saw Rune staring at her, his soft blue eyes filled with such gentles and love that tears sprung into her eyes. "Rune…Oh Rune!!" she cried as she leaped into his awaiting arms and buried her face into his chest, sobbing loudly.

            Rune held her and gently stroked her hair. "Don't worry…I'll never let you go again…" He looked down and tilted her face up gently, rubbing his thumb over her tears. "You'll never be hurt again…because I'll always be by your side…"

            He leaned down ad kissed her a long, deep, passionate kiss and felt her body press closer to him as she kissed him back with the same passion and love. They soon became one and inseparable, so strong was their love for each other. They never even noticed their surroundings changing around them, nor Thatz gawking at them as the two lovers suddenly appeared amidst a frenzy of faerie activity.

            It was only when a gigantic outburst of cheering and applause erupt around them did they stir and finally take notice. Rune suddenly froze, his whole body a brilliant crimson as he realized what his people had witnessed. Only the gentle touch of Tintlet's hand against his made him relax and turn back to normal. He leaned over and softly whispered in her ear, "Will you marry?" and was overjoyed when she smiled and replied in the same soft whisper, "Yes…with all my heart."

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            Thatz stretched out his arms and let out a huge yawn. "Dang I'm bored…"

            Rath paused and looked up from the book he was reading. "Then why not go treasure hunting or gorge yourself with food like usual?"

            "Nah…that's no fun…"

            Rath raised an eyebrow at his friend's response. "…Something troubling you?"

            "How long has it been?" Thatz asked suddenly.

            "What?"

            "Since we last Rune and Tintlet?"

            The Dragon Knight shrugged. "Since their wedding two years back I suppose."

            "Two years…" Thatz mused. "We should pay them a visit."

            Rath wondered what his true motive was when Ruwalk suddenly burst into the library, causing the librarians to glare at him. But the Dragon Officer ignored them and roan over to the two Dragon Knights, his chest heaving as he gasped for breath.

            "…baby…ceremony…faerie…"

            Thatz stared at him. "Breathe first!"

            Ruwalk took several deep breaths then in a very loud voice filled with overwhelming excitement, he yelled, "RUNE AND TINTLET HAD A BABY AND THERE'S TO BE A GRAND CEREMONY AT THE WATER REALM!!!!!!"

            There was a loud resounding "SSSSHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!" from the now extremely annoyed librarians but the trio took no heed as they raced off to find the Dragon Lord 

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            "I trust there are no faerie godmothers…?" Alfeegi said wryly to Lykouleon.

            "She's part faerie, she wouldn't need it," Raseleane chuckled.

            "Well now there's an heir to the Dragon Realm _and_ the Faerie Realm…" Kai-stern mused.

            "Is that even allowed?" Ruwalk asked.

            "There is nothing in the Dragon Laws that say it cannot be," Tetheus said suddenly behind Ruwalk, startling the Yellow Dragon Officer.

            Ruwalk turned around. "Don't DO that!"

            Tetheus just looked at him and took his seat, turning his attention back to the highly decorated clearing in front of them. 

            It had been just a few weeks since Ruwalk had burst into the Dragon Lord's office, exclaiming the good news. Of course, the whole palace had heard it the first time around, and if they didn't, they had certainly heard it then. They soon hastened to the Water Realm, awed by the forest's never ending beauty. Raseleane had been enthralled by all the water lights that had ventured forward and had flown around them. Ringleys had dived into Thatz and the two were chatting animatedly about their adventures while Rath had gone off, "to attend to some business," as he had said.

            Lykouleon laughed at Ruwalk. "Take it easy Ruwalk, you're supposed to keep a _dignified_ air about you." He grinned. "But Tetheus is right, and the bonds between the two realms have been strengthened greatly."

            They soon all became quiet as the Elder of the Faerie Water Realm stepped out, Rune and Tintlet following, the mother holding her child. 

            After performing the usual rituals, the Elder turned to the Royal parents. "And what ill you name your child?"

            Rune and Tintlet glanced at each other and Rune smiled as he glanced at the light pink strands of hair that were starting to emerge among the blondish white strands. "Miyabi. Her name is Miyabi."

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THERE! AFTER MORE THAN A MONTH, THE FINAL CHAPTER!!! *sobs and blows her nose loudly* I worked on while in Canada, I hope you guys liked it T.T It was rather uh fast, but oh well .; Finished with another story! I'm thinking about doing a Wizard of Oz parody…in fact I've started on it .; Drop one story, picked up another one x_x; Oh well! See you guys later and thanks for reading this little story =D well it's 15 chapters…so it's not *that* little _; Thanks again!! *waves* OH AND REVIEW!


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